Former commander stands up F-22 unit at Holloman AFB

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  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Air Force Reserve Command moved closer to launching its second F-22A associate group Jan. 7 when Col. Donald "Louie" Lindberg flew his first Raptor sortie here.

Colonel Lindberg commands Detachment 1, 301st Fighter Wing at Holloman. Plans call for the detachment to stand up as the 44th Fighter Group in late summer or early fall. The Air Force Reserve stood up its first classic associate F-22 unit, the 477th FG, at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, in October 2007.

"It was a great mission, the weather was beautiful, and it was a great ride," Colonel Lindberg said. "It was a great way to fly an F-22." 

Colonel Lindberg was previously assigned as the 944th Operations Group commander at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz. He is now the commander of the 301 Fighter Wing, Detachment 1. There is currently a request to stand up what will be the 44th Fighter Group, which will lie in Colonel Lindberg's command. 

Twenty-six other reservists train with Airmen from the 49th Fighter Wing, the host Regular Air Force unit at Holloman. Air Force Reserve officials expect the group to be fully operational and capable to deploy four pilots and 75-80 maintainers by November. The goal is to have 270 unit reservists assigned in the next three years.

The fully manned unit will have about 195 aircraft maintainers, 12 pilots and about 25 people in a medical flight, according to Colonel Lindberg.

"It will also include personnel support in areas such as communications, logistics, services and security," the colonel said. "We have been hiring at a rate of seven to eight people per month and hope to have 90 by June."

The 44th mission is to develop and retain combat-ready Citizen Airmen. Many of the people joining the unit are highly experienced, prior-service Airmen. F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon maintainers with five and seven skill level certifications often fill maintenance positions. After being assigned to Holloman, they then receive F-22 training from 49th FW people. A smaller percentage of reservists will need to attend formal technical school training.

"We are getting a lot of spouses who are separated prior-service (Airmen) and some active-duty Palace Chase applicants (people who complete their service obligation in the National Guard or Reserve)," said Master Sgt. Valerie James, an in-service recruiter at Holloman. "There has also been a lot of interest from prior-service members in Albuquerque, N.M., and El Paso, Texas. I'm confident we will fill the unit."

The 44th FG is expected to be a full partner with the 49th FW in deployment taskings.

"We may not necessarily fully mobilize for deployment, but we expect at minimum an 80 percent volunteer rate for deployment taskings," said Colonel Lindberg. "We are planning to set ourselves up to be the second or third package to go to war, with the 49th FW."

Cooperation and understanding between the two units in the coming months will be critical to the success of the Total Force Integration at Holloman, according to Colonel Lindberg.

The colonel has been in the Air Force Reserve for 17 years and says he has seen "a lot of total force initiatives" at Langley AFB, Va.; Shaw AFB, S.C.; Tyndall AFB, Fla.; and Luke AFB, Ariz.

"I've never seen or worked with more supportive, forward-thinking and enlightened Regular Air Force leadership," he said. "Because of that, they've translated the message to the Airmen of the 49th Fighter Wing and Team Holloman. Our support here has been phenomenal.

"TFI envisions a full partnership between the Regular Air Force and the Reserve. We believe we can take two good components and make one great one." 

(Air Force Reserve Command News Service from a 49th FW news release)