Nearly 140 Air National Guardsmen recently participated in the NATO-led exercise, Steadfast Javelin II, in Eastern Europe. The airmen from six ANG bases supported the exercise “by providing personnel air drop and air landings in support of forcible entry, force projection, and reinforcing the joint commitment,” states a Sept. 10 release. The 166th Airlift Wing from Delaware was the lead ANG unit. “Reserve units provide nearly 60 percent of tactical air support throughout the globe and we need the ANG to conduct such large-scale exercises like this,” said Brig. Gen. James Witham, deputy director of the Air National Guard. The US supplied 10 ANG C-130 aircraft to provide airlift support. Air National Guardsmen from the 166th AW, California’s 146th AW, the 123rd AW from Kentucky, Missouri’s 139th AW, 182nd AW from Illinois, and the 143rd AW from Rhode Island all participated. Steadfast Javelin II, which took place Sept. 2-8, was part of another two-week exercise, Sabre Junction, led by US Army Europe. The exercise took place over Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.