About 200 airmen and seven F-16s are returning to Colorado from a month-long deployment to Hungary for training and to support Operation Atlantic Resolve. The airmen and aircraft, assigned to the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard stationed at Buckley AFB, Colo., deployed to Europe for the first time in more than 20 years, according to an Air National Guard release. The deployment included close air support training with the Hungarian and Slovenian militaries, along with air-to-air training with Hungarian Gripen aircraft and other aircraft from Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Slovenia, the release states.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
