This is the fourth installation in my series about my third deployment. For this one we take a step away from the day to day minutiae and focus on some of the interesting history of a provisional, warfighting wing. My apologies in advance for the sheer number of acronyms, but that is how you can tell this is an article about the military. If you would like to get caught up or refresh your memory, check out the first, second, and third articles. Please check out the shop for stickers and signed books. Thanks for reading!
My third deployment was to the 332d Expeditionary Contracting Squadron (ECONS), in the 332d Expeditionary Mission Support Group (EMSG), of the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW). As a provisional wing, the 332d AEW has been activated and deactivated many times since its inception in the 1940s. Deploying to the 332d AEW was an interesting experience, as the Wing is steeped in history, and the leadership there actively promoted the AEW’s history. It helped instill a feeling of pride to be a part of such a historically significant AEW, as well as gave the Force Support Squadron some cool, easy ideas for merchandising.
The modern 332d AEW is a direct descendant of the legendary 332d Expeditionary Fighter Wing, otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen or the “Red Tails”, which was a segregated, all-Black unit of the U.S. Army Air Corps. Their fighter planes usually had their tails painted a distinctive red color for easy identification and differentiation from other planes and units. During World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen earned a reputation for putting German airplanes in the dirt and for disproving racial stereotypes. There have been a multitude of books written about the Tuskegee Airmen, and at least one movie that one could go read and watch for better information than I could ever provide in a short article.
After World War II, the 332d Fighter Wing transitioned from the U.S. Army Air Corps to the U.S. Air Force, only to be deactivated in 1949 as a part of the USAF’s efforts to achieve racial integration. At this time the 332d became a provisional wing, to be activated and inactivated when the Air Force requires additional warfighting capability.
It wouldn’t be until 1998 and Operation Southern Watch that the 332d would be reactivated, this time as the 332d Air Expeditionary Group (AEG) at Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait. The mission was to deny lethal Iraqi military flights south of the 32nd Parallel, and the 332d’s varied airframes meant that any mission could be handled organically within the Group. The 332d AEG would stay in Kuwait through the opening days of the Global War on Terror, providing air support for Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2002, the 332d was expanded from an AEG to an AEW and moved to Iraq, where it remained for almost a decade, flying missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Eventually, the 332d AEW would be moved back to Kuwait, and then once more, where I would join them in Southwest Asia.
The 332d has not always flown the most technologically advanced aircraft, famously being given, antiquated dogshit planes when it was an all-Black unit in World War II. The Tuskegee Airmen’s leadership was able to successfully negotiate for state of the art P-51 Mustang fighter planes, and the Red Tails commenced to more efficiently and ruthlessly dirtnapping Kraut pilots.
While I was there, I got to see the full complement of USAF and Host Nation air power. Watching fighter jets take off at full afterburner never gets old for me, and watching them bank and turn over the airfield was super cool. Hearing the fighter jets does indeed get old for me, usually right around the time I am trying to get to sleep.
My job for the 332d AEW was to run the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP) task orders across the base and to act as the Base Support Flight Commander for the ECONS. The AFCAP task orders provided services across the base that ranged from gym maintenance, to running the dining facility, to drawing up engineering plans for the Civil Engineering Squadron. AFCAP was a hot button issue for higher leadership, as many issues with the task orders were popping up all over Southwest Asia. Most of these issues were related to the COVID-19 pandemic creating a lack of hands-on training for USAF personnel to conduct in-depth auditing of the contractor performance. I was lucky enough that most of mine ran pretty smooth with minimal correction and inputs.
Since the Airmen and NCOs that made up the Base Support Flight could have probably managed without me, I decided that the most important thing I could do would be provide whatever support they needed, and to get the hell out of their way so they could get their job done. Sometimes that meant I would absorb additional duties so they could focus on their real job. More than once it meant that I would stand, looming and scowling in the corner while they had tough conversations with upset customers who outranked them. At least once it meant taking and redirecting the heat from higher leadership on the base.
One of the cooler projects that I was able to witness early on was the installation of a new bar at the base park. Tyler, one of the ECONS Airmen, purchased a custom built shipping container outfitted with all the necessities to turn it into a small bar, with sinks, refrigerators, electrical power, etc. The shipping container was painted to look like it had wood paneling, and had custom signage fastened to the walls. It was a big step up from the previous facility for serving booze at the park, and everyone was understandably excited.
Christened “Chappie’s,” the new trailer-turned-bar was named after General David “Chappie” James, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen and the first Black four-star General in the Air Force. He flew a wide variety of aircraft, although he was most known as a fighter pilot, and at one point had a stand-off with Mohammar Qaddafi during the Libyan coup. This standoff was diffused by General James snapping off one of the coldest lines in history, and likely saved many Libyan and American lives in the process. From General James’ Wikipedia page: Qaddafi arrived at the gate and while talking to James, moved his hand over to his pistol holster to which James replied: “I told him to move his hand away. If he had pulled that gun, his hand would have never cleared the holster.”
I had basically nothing to do with the order and delivery of Chappie’s, but it was super cool to watch it be dangled by a crane and gently lowered into place. It was even cooler to watch Tyler get acknowledged by the Wing Commander for his role in getting the new bar in place, just in time for the main bar to go down for some much needed maintenance.
There were two things that could completely derail the morale on the base instantaneously: Booze and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi cut out a few times while I was deployed, and it usually dropped in a wave from one router to the other across the base. I swear you could hear it coming from one side of the base as the cascading lamentations of Airmen rose when the signal dropped to zero. After the Wi-Fi disappeared, one could walk outside and see wandering, confused Airmen desperately searching for signal to continue their studies, video chat, or video games. I always worried that if the Wi-Fi stayed down too long a riot might break out. My fears were never realized as the Communications Squadron managed to get the Wi-Fi back online within minutes. Most of the time.
At the 332d, everyone of the base was allowed three alcoholic beverages every eighteen hours. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but in many deployed locations alcohol is completely prohibited. Keeping the beer flowing was almost as important as keeping the Wi-Fi flowing. To some Airmen, the booze was probably more important than the Wi-Fi, and the 332d’s main bar, Red’s, was going to be closed for some much needed, overdue maintenance. Getting Chappie’s delivered and up and running was extremely important.
My earliest experiences with the 332d ECONS was to see the squadron receive some extremely high level recognition, and it showed me that I was going to have to be at the top of my game to keep up with the rest of the squadron. Chappie’s Bar was just the beginning of my time with the 332d, and I was looking forward to seeing what else we could accomplish.
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