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1st Fighter Wing to receive combat awards, dedicate memorial

Posted at 9:46 PM, Oct 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-23 21:46:33-04

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – The 1st Fighter Wing will dedicate a monument to more than 100 years of defending American skies Friday.

The ceremony will award Operation Inherent Resolve combat streamers to the 27th and 94th Fighter Squadrons. According to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, approximately 150 1st FW alumni of Airmen from the Korean War era to the present will be in attendance.

“The roots of our lineage begin with the American pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille who flew with our French allies in World War I more than 100 years ago,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Jason Hinds, 1st FW commander. “It is fitting that we welcome back the 1st FW alumni who handed the torch to us as we celebrate our most recent combat achievements.”

The ceremony’s presiding official, U.S. Air Force Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander, will also oversee the presentation of the Meritorious Unit and Global War on Terrorism awards to the 1st FW’s six squadrons and two groups.

The ceremony will take place from 2-4 p.m. on Langley Air Force Base.