Air Force Reserve Command officials are making organizational changes at Barksdale AFB, La., to improve Reservists’ support of B-52 bomber operations there. On Jan. 1, AFRC will inactivate Barksdale’s 917th Wing, which consists today of B-52 squadrons and an A-10 ground-attack unit, wing spokeswoman Jessica d’Aurizio, told the Daily Report Monday. At the same time, the command will reactivate the 307th Bomb Wing, a unit with a Cold War heritage, to subsume those B-52 units: the 93rd Bomb Squadron, 343rd BS, plus maintenance and support elements. The 93rd BS is the Air Force’s sole B-52 schoolhouse, while 343rd BS airmen support the operations of Barksdale’s active duty 2nd BW. Meanwhile, the inactivating 917th Wing’s A-10s of the 47th Fighter Squadron will remain at Barksdale, but transfer to the organizational control of AFRC’s 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., said d’Aurizio. These moves will “make us more efficient and allow us to concentrate on the B-52 mission,” she said. The 47th FS is transitioning from a training unit to combat-coded status, she noted. Barksdale will host a ceremony on Jan. 8, with Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief, presiding, to mark these changes, she said.
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
