Lt. Col. Philip Hoover, commander of the 389th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, on March 16 flew the last F-16 Viper mission out of Mountain Home. The squadron is trading its F-16s—the last five of which leave the base next week—for the F-15E Strike Eagle under BRAC 2005. The 389th FS has flown F-16s since 1991 and began the transition to the F-15E in December. The base also will say goodbye to its F-15C Eagles as it becomes a “core F-15E installation.”
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
