Airmen, family, and friends of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Fighter Wing said goodbye to the unit’s last four F-16 fighters Jan. 16—a day the state had declared “Happy Hooligans Day” in honor of the unit and its 60th anniversary. The Hooligans have flown F-16s since 1990 but date their history to 1947 when they flew F-51s. Now, the redesignated 119th Wing will fly Predator unmanned aerial vehicles and C-21 executive jets. The wing received its first C-21 just last week.
The Air Force kicked off one of its biggest exercises this week with the latest edition of Bamboo Eagle, featuring combined virtual and live training scenarios focused on test the command-and-control “nervous system” leaders need to operate on a complex joint battlefield spread over vast distances.
