The 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England, flew 1,238 sorties in March, topping the previous record of 938 sorties flown in August 2015. “We crushed the record, but that wasn’t the goal,” said Col. Scottie Zamzow, 48th Operations Group commander, in an April 1 release. “The goal was to sharpen the sword; stress the machine, so that when we were done, we were more combat ready than when we started.” The one-month surge, dubbed “Big March,” took place over the course of just 20 days, allowing airmen in a variety of specialities to hone their skills. “We’re talking about refueling 1,200 sorties. We’re talking about tracking 1,200 sorties,” said CMSgt. Anthony Stewart, 48th Maintenance Group superintendent. “Airmen on the flightline that may have turned a wrench five times on one specific job in six months, got to do it five times in one month because we were flying that many sorties.” The 48th FW is the only US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa F-15 fighter wing, according to a wing factsheet.
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
