81st Fighter Squadron [81st FS]
The 81st Fighter Squadron was originally constituted as teh 81st Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 6 Jan 1942. The unit was activated on 15 Jan 1942. It was redesignated: 81st Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942; 81st Fighter Squadron (Special) on 28 May 1942; 81st Fighter Squadron (Single Engine) on 21 Jan 1944; 81st Fighter Squadron, Single Engine, on 28 Feb 1944. The Squadron was inactivated on 7 Nov 1945. Redesignated 81st Fighter Squadron (All Weather) on 13 May 1947, the unit activated in the reserve on 12 Jul 1947. It was redesignated: 81st Fighter Squadron, Jet, on 20 Jun 1949; 81st Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on 1 Mar 1950, and ordered to active service on 1 Jun 1951, but inactivated on 2 Jun 1951. Redesignated 81st Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 15 Nov 1952, it was activated on 1 Jan 1953. The unit was redesignated: 81st Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 Jul 1958, and the 81st Fighter Squadron on 1 Oct 1991.
A-10s of the the 40th Air Expeditionary Group at Gioia del Colle deployed from the 81st Fighter Squadron, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, and the 74th Fighter Squadron, Pope AFB, NC. The 40th AEG flew missions supporting NATO's Operation Allied Force.
A Spangdahlem Air Base pilot received a one of the military's highest medals here next week for an act of heroism during Operation Allied Force, NATO's air campaign against Serbian forces in Kosovo. A Silver Star Medal was presented to Capt. John A. Cherrey, an A/OA-10 pilot with the 81st Fighter Squadron. The medal was presented for Cherrey's action against an armed enemy of the United States near Novi Sad, Serbia, on March 27 and 28, 1999. Cherrey earned the medal for courageously and repeatedly risking his life to rescue a fellow American pilot who was shot down over hostile Serbian territory on 27 March 1999. As the overall Combat Search and Rescue Task Force Mission commander, Cherrey flew into the teeth of the Serbian Air defenses, battling constant communication jamming and intrusion, deteriorating weather, repeated targeting of his aircraft by deadly SA-3 and SA-6 surface-to-air missiles, and the threat of enemy aircraft only a few miles from the downed F-117A stealth fighter pilot's location. At extreme risk to his life, Cherrey overflew unknown Serbian territory while fully exposed to surface-to-air threats, until he positively identified the pilot and his location. Cherrey deceived enemy radar and concealed the intended pickup site by maneuvering his formation away from the downed pilot's position and into the SA-3 and SA-6 lethal ranges. Critically low on fuel, Cherrey refused to abandon his post. With impeccable courage, he stayed in an increasingly hostile environment to be close to the downed pilot until the rescue.
When the Communications Squadron, Spangdahlem AB, Germany deploys, it relies on its Air Expeditionary Force Communications Package (formerly Wing Initial Comm Package) to establish all comm systems. This robust capability includes secure and non-secure Internet access, land mobile radios, UHF/VHF ground-to-air radios, cellular phone service, secure messaging systems, telephone switches, facsimile, visual information and postal services. All in all, it's a comm package that rivals base level services. The 52nd's AEF CP was built from scratch in 1997 and currently employs 14 full-time people. It had its first taste of real world missions in late 1998 and early 1999 during Operation Allied Force, providing vital communications to the 81st Fighter Squadron's A/OA-10s deployed to Gioia Del Colle, Italy. Typically, 10 to 20 augmentees are pulled from their primary work centers to support a deployment.
Six A-10 Warthogs and 110 people from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, participated in a 10-day multi-national combat search and rescue exercise. CSAR 99-02, which ended 10 December 1999, was designed to hone the skills of search and rescue units in NATO. The A-10s and people from Spangdahlem's 81st Fighter Squadron flew missions associated with the exercise over Bosnia. The overall objective was to practice intense search and rescue techniques, particularly unplanned ones, with varying operations similar to Allied Force. Though Spangdahlem A-10s have participated in similar training, Haave said, CSAR 99-02 was a complex exercise, involving a wider range of scenarios and more people than before in the southern European theater. The exercise involved people and aircraft from several allied countries, including French and Italian helicopters, Spanish and Canadian F-18s, and British and French Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.
