U.S. Air Force inactivates four A-10 units in Arizona

The U.S. Air Force inactivated four A-10 units at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on Sept. 18, in a ceremony it described as the official end of the A-10 legacy at the base.

The units were the 355th Operations Group, 357th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Generation Squadron and 355th Training Squadron. Col. Jose Cabrera, commander of the 355th Wing, presided. Airmen, families, retired A-10 pilots, local civic leaders and community members attended.

The 355th Operations Group was activated on May 1, 1992, and controlled the flying units of the 355th Wing. From 1992 to 2026 it supplied A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft for close air support, forward air control and combat search and rescue. The group deployed personnel around the world and oversaw all formal A-10 initial qualification and requalification training for pilots.

Fairchild Republic built the A-10 to attack enemy forces near friendly ground troops. The aircraft is designed around a 30 mm (1.2-inch) GAU-8/A cannon.

“For decades, every single active-duty pilot, who flew into harm’s way, was built right there on this flightline. For nearly 50 years, the A-10 Thunderbolt has occupied a sacred place in American air power. It was never just an airplane. It was a promise. Davis-Monthan was part of that promise,” said Col. Jose Cabrera, 355th Wing commander.

Each unit’s last commander and Cabrera rolled and cased the unit’s guidon to mark its inactivation. The audience answered with a loud shout of “attack” as each outgoing commander gave up command.

“We say the word ‘attack.’ We have a great amount of pride when we say that word because it’s not just the challenge or response,” said Lt. Col. Rodney Dwyer, final commander of the 355th Operations Group and 355th Training Squadron.

Retired Lt. Gen. Glen “Wally” Moorhead, the pilot who flew the first A-10 into Davis-Monthan, also spoke.

“Nov. 7, 1975 was when I first flew the A-10 at DM,” said retired Lt. Gen. Glen “Wally” Moorhead.

Moorhead said he was selected in 1974 as the last and youngest member of the A-10 testing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. He said he knew a follow-on assignment would make him the first A-10 pilot at Davis-Monthan.

“This has been an incredible job and opportunity, but it’s also been heavy. I think about my time as a wingman, my job was to learn. As an instructor pilot, it was to teach. And now my charge [as a commander] is to leave,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Rutter, final commander of the 357th Fighter Squadron.

The ceremony ended with a group photo of former 355th Operations Group members and a flyover by two A-10s.

The announcement did not say whether any A-10s remain at Davis-Monthan, what will happen to the base’s aircraft, or what mission the 355th Wing will take on next.

Historical documents and memorabilia from the four units are being packed into containers for shipment to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.