The 104th Fighter Wing will continue to provide Homeland Security for the Northeast during the deployment.
An F-15 fighter jet from the 104th Air Wing at Barnes Regional Airport in Westfield takes off.WESTFIELD – Air National Guard members from the 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Regional Airport deployed Thursday as part of an Air Force Air Expeditionary Force mission to Southwest Asia.
Despite the deployment, the 104th Fighter Wing will continue to meet its Homeland Security mission for the Northeast, Wing Executive Officer Maj. Matthew T. Mutti said.
Joining local guardsmen and women were members of the Air National Guard’s 159th Fighter Wing stationed in New Orleans, which also flies the F-15 Eagle jet fighter.
Mutti declined comment on the exact destination of the guard units, only saying “in and around the Middle East.”
Several of the units’ F-15s were deployed along with about 250 pilots and support personnel from the 104th Fighter Wing, Mutti said.
The deployment marked a first for the Barnes unit since it assumed responsibility in 2010 for national security that includes patrols in and around the Northeast, officials said.
The units are expected to return in about six months.
The deployment is also a first for the 104th Fighter Wing since it began flying the F-15, an air-to-air fighter jet. The F-15s replaced the unit's A-10 Warthog air-to-ground fighters, which saw action in Iraq several times since 1991. The A-10 is an air-to-ground fighter jet.