TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — A storied fighter squadron will be reactivated to help train F-22 Raptor pilots.
During a reactivation ceremony on the base, Lt. Col. Derek Wyler will assume command of the 2nd Fighter Training Squadron. The ceremony will begin at 10:02 a.m. — not 10:01 or 10:03 — in a nod to the 2nd squadron, and it will be held in Hangar 2 on Friday, which just happens to Aug. 22.
“Airmen are very proud of their squadron, its heritage and everything it stands for,” Lt. Col. Karl Schluter, 325th Operations Group adversary air director of operations, said in an email. “Therefore, everything associated with the 2nd will, within reason, involve a 2 — hence 10:02 for the start of the ceremony.”
The squadron, which formed in 1941, was deactivated four years ago after 36 years at Tyndall. From 1984 until its deactivation, the squadron trained F-15 Eagle Pilots, but it was deactivated in the Air Force drawdown of the F-15, Schluter said.
The growth of the T-38 Adversary Air program at Tyndall led to the reactivation of the squadron, which is nicknamed the American Beagle Squadron. Over the past two years airmen have moved to Tyndall as the program has grown. Currently there are 27 personnel assigned to the squadron, six of whom are reservists.
In its latest iteration, the 2nd will fly T-38 Talons in training exercises as adversaries to the F-22s.
The T-38 offers a couple of advantages as adversaries. First of all, it’s cheaper, like $18,000 per flight-hour cheaper.
And it’s not as technologically advanced as the F-22, which has stealth technology. Because no other aircraft in the world has the capabilities of the F-22, the T-38 is more realistic in the role of the adversary to the F-22.
The squadron was created in 1941 and flew missions in England and Tunisia during World War II. The squadron worked in less glamorous conditions than the American Eagle Squadron, and it became known as the Beagles as a result. Despite the less-than-ideal working conditions, the squadron achieved an impressive record in combat during the war.
