A team of Alabama Air National Guard Airmen from the 187th Fighter Wing at Montgomery arrived at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on 2 May 2014 to start a six-month deployment. The 100th Fighter Squadron, the F-16 flying squadron known as the Red Tails, will provide overwatch and close air support for ground units in theater. This deployment is unique, as most Guard deployments are normally distributed among one or two units for three to four months at a time. This will be the ninth combat deployment for the 187th FW since Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Currently designated as the 100th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, the Red Tails can trace their lineage to the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
