WESTFIELD – The 104th Fighter Wing from Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield were delpoyed for a NATO surveillance mission in Europe that will continue over the next 6 months.
“The purpose of this mission is basically two-fold,” said Commander James Keefe of the 104th Fighter Wing. “The first one is actual surveillance of the Northern Atlantic, and the second purpose of this deployment or mission is to work with our NATO allies.”
Keefe said the mission is part of “Operation Atlantic Resolve,” which the United States started in 2014 to prevent further Russian aggression in the region.
“President Putin in Russia, they’ve been flying a lot of their bombers, long-range aviation, kind of challenging us in Europe, so what the F-15’s mission is going to be doing is protecting the airspace in the Northern Atlantic,” he said.
Barnes Air National Guard Base is sending 12 F-15 fighter jets in total. The first four left on Saturday, the second four left on Sunday, and the remaining four will leave later in the week.
In total, the United States deployed the 12 F-15s and 350 Airmen out of Barnes and another base in California. The 104th deployed over 200 unit members.
Once they land, the fighter jets will watch over the skies of Iceland, while the Airmen conduct training exercises in the Netherlands with NATO allies.
“As Citizen Airmen we continue to support the National Security both home and abroad with partner nations and allies,” said Keefe. “Our Guardsmen are on duty accomplishing missions they train for every day at Barnes and are an enduring choice for security cooperation and building partnerships. Our defense relationships with allies like Iceland are critical to ensuring security for the United States and NATO.”
The 104th FW is an operational flying unit assigned to the Air Combat Command, and proudly claims the honor of being one of the oldest flying units within Massachusetts.
Tasked to provide operationally ready combat units, combat support units and qualified personnel for active duty, the 104th FW supports Air Force wartime contingency requirements and performs a variety of peacetime missions required by the Air Force and compatible mobilization readiness. One mission of the 104th is Aerospace Control Alert (ACA), providing armed fighters ready to scramble in a moment’s notice to protect the Northeast from any airborne threat. The unit is responsible for protecting a quarter of the nation’s population and one third of the Gross Domestic Product.
