Written Articles

The Idaho Air National Guard's 124th Wing said good-bye to its F-4 Phantoms--the last in the Air Force--with a "Phabulous Phantom" farewell last April. The festivities were conducted over a four-day period honoring the aircraft that has been a familiar sight in southwest Idaho since 1975, longer than any other aircraft in the Idaho Air Guard's 50-year history. After more than 20 years of flying the F-4, the 124th traded in their Phantoms to take on two new aircraft types and missions--the A-10 Thunderbolt II attack bomber and C-130 Hercules turboprop transport. The farewell celebration, which included a golf tournament and social events, concluded on April 20, 1996, at Gowen Field. The farewell ceremony was attended by Idaho Air Guard members, their families, and representatives of the Air Force, Air National Guard and McDonnell Douglas, creator of the Phantom. During the ceremony, Col. Gary L. Sayler, 124th Wing commander, read from a letter sent to the unit by Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, Air Force Chief of Staff. "I'd like to offer my congratulations for your excellent service as the last Air Force unit to fly and maintain the 'Phabulous Phantom.' Your celebration ... demonstrates that the 124th possesses style and character equal to that of the 'Mighty Rhino.' I'll look forward to watching you extend the distinguished service of Idaho's Air Guard into the A-10 and C-130. I salute you for your many years of outstanding service in the F-4." The ceremony concluded on a dramatic, and for many, an emotional, note as Idaho's last four Phantoms began their final flight--a one-way trip to the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan AFB--with one last low-level pass over Gowen Field. The veteran fighters will be mothballed or converted to remote-controlled drones for target practice and weapons development. For at least one member of the 124th Wing, the last unit in the Air Force to fly the F-4, watching Idaho's F-4s leave active service had personal significance. In 1965, as an 18-year-old Airman Third Class, SMSgt. Wayne Preuett served with the 12th Tactical Fighter Wing, the first unit in the Air Force to fly the F-4 Phantom II. Idaho airmen flew Phantoms for more than 20 years--longer than some of the airmen who helped support the aircraft had been alive. Flying both the unarmed RF-4C and lethal F-4G Wild Weasel, the 124th deployed more often and flew more missions with the Phantom than any other Air Guard unit. Idaho's first Phantom, an RF-4C, arrived in the summer of 1975, assigned to the newly formed 124th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Idaho Air National Guard, and the Tactical Air Command. Within months, the Phantoms went to work for the people of Idaho, photographing flood waters pouring from the ruptured Teton Dam. The high-resolution pictures helped public safety officers plot the flood's path in time to evacuate endangered areas. Aerial photographs taken immediately after a severe earthquake in central Idaho were used to locate damage and direct emergency response crews. For the next 15 years, 1976 to 1991, Idaho's picture-taking Phantoms dominated Air Force and international military reconnaissance competitions. Idaho airmen were named best overall "recce" aircrew at the international Photo Finish contest, and claimed three Photo Derby trophies in 1980, 1982 and 1984. Two Idaho airmen were named Best Reconnaissance Aircrew at the international RAM '87 competition and earned the O'Malley Award as the top reconnaissance crew in the U.S. Air Force. In 1989 the 124th TRG claimed the Winston P. Wilson Award as the best Air National Guard flying unit, combat or reconnaissance, in the nation. Late in 1991, Idaho's unarmed RF-4Cs were replaced with F-4G Wild Weasels, designed to seek out and destroy hostile air defense weapons to clear a safe path for friendly aircraft. In the Persian Gulf War, the Wild Weasel was often first to enter combat--and last to leave. The 124th Tactical Reconnaissance Group became the 124th Fighter Group, part of Air Combat Command, and gained mission capable status in record time. In March 1993 Idaho's Phantoms and their crews began the first of four almost back-to-back extended deployments to Southwest Asia, flying armed combat-ready patrols through the often unfriendly skies of Iraq. Idaho's Wild Weasels served two consecutive six-month tours in Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the No Fly Zone over southern Iraq. In two separate incidents, F-4Gs were challenged by illegal Iraqi air defense weapons. Idaho airmen answered--and silenced--the threats with anti-radiation missiles. Two Wild Weasel aircrew members from the 124th became the first, and possibly the only, Air National Guard officers to fly 100 or more missions over Iraq. For its role in Operation Southern Watch, the two year-old 124th Fighter Group earned its first Outstanding Unit Award--the fifth such award for Idaho's Air Guard--which was presented to the unit personally by Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. Sheila A. Widnall. Phantoms from the 124th went back to the volatile Persian Gulf in March 1994 for two more extended deployments, this time as part of Operation Provide Comfort. Based in central Turkey, Idaho's F-4G Wild Weasels were part of a multinational force patrolling northern Iraq to protect Kurd citizens from Iraqi aggression and enforcing the northern No Fly Zone. During the second tour, an Idaho Phantom and its crew was honored for completing the 50,000th Provide Comfort mission. At the end of 1995, Idaho's Weasels, their crews and support teams had spent almost two years in the Persian Gulf, longer than any other flying unit in the Air National Guard, and had flown more than 1,000 combat missions in the war-torn region. In September of last year, Under Secretary of the Air Force Rudy DeLeon visited the 124th Fighter Group to announce that the Idaho unit would trade the high-flying supersonic F-4G Wild Weasel for A-10s and C-130s, the Idaho Air Guard's first totally new aircraft in more than 20 years.

Last time around. The four Weasels perform a diamond fly-by for the gathered crowd at Boise before turning south for the trip to Arizona.

Published in Smoke Trails, Volume 10, Number 3
© 1996 F-4 Phantom II Society, http://www.Mach2Media.com/Phantom