BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --
The “Fuujins” of the 4th Fighter Squadron assigned to Hill
Air Force Base, Utah, took to the skies of Afghanistan for the last time, as
they concluded their six month deployment to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan April
30.
The squadron deployed to fulfill the wing’s commitment to
providing decisive combat airpower in support of the 2015 fighting season and
execution of NATO’s Operation Resolute Support mission.
“Our squadron’s mission was to provide F-16 airpower to our
ground commanders here in Afghanistan,” said Lt. Col. Todd Robbins, 4th FS
commander. “Our goals were to accomplish that without any civilian casualties
in accordance with the Rules of Engagement, and never miss a target.”
Arriving in-country during the fall of 2014, the Fuujins
were part of the historic transition from Operation Enduring Freedom to the
Resolute Support mission and Operations Freedom’s Sentinel, a change that
keenly affected the fighter squadron.
“We’re here at a unique time: the end of Operation Enduring
Freedom, a 13-year mission in Afghanistan,” Robbins said. “As former Secretary
of Defense [Chuck] Hagel said, during the transition the mission changed to
supporting the Afghan government through the train, advise, assist mission and
through Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the counterterrorism mission which in his
words, is being accomplished to degrade and destroy the remnants of Al Qaida,
so Afghanistan is never again used as a launching pad for a terrorist attack on
our homeland.”
Looking back on the months of unwavering mission focus,
Robbins believes his team was successful in seeing their objectives to fruition.
“I feel we did great and I couldn’t be more proud of the men
and women of the 4th Fighter Squadron and associated maintenance package,”
Robbins said. “We flew more than 8,000 F-16 hours in just over six months and
were able to accomplish all our goals. Not only are the people of Afghanistan
safer for what we’ve accomplished here, our friends and family are safer.”
With everything on their to-do lists checked off and their
relief safely on the ground, Airmen of the 4th FS headed home for a much anticipated
reunion with loved ones.
“We couldn’t have accomplished any of this without the love
and support of the friends and family back home,” Robbins said. “The care
packages over the holidays, the cards and letters, the constant support for one
another allowed us to focus on the mission and make it happen.”