F-15 50th Anniversary: Last Hurrah for Oregon’s 173rd FW?

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar.

Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing (FW) trained with U.S. Marines, on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, in California.  But this year might be the last time.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 14AUG2022.

In August 2022, Oregon’s F-15C Eagles (along with 125th FW F-15s out of Florida) played ‘bad guy’ against  USMC F/A-18C/D Hornets from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 (VMFAT-101), and the F-35B Lightning-2 from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 502 (VMFAT-502).

Oregon Air National Guard video report by Staff Sergeant Emily Copeland:

Oregon Air National Guard video interview by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 23AUG2022:

Recently, it was revealed that the 173rd has been ordered to get rid of its F-15C Eagles.  That means this year’s deployment to Miramar might be the last, at least with their F-15C Eagles.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, 14AUG2022.

For almost 40 years the 173rd FW’s Kingsley Field served as the only F-15C training base for the U.S. Air Force!  But starting in 2024, the 173rd will be using the brand new F-15EX Eagle-2.

Oregon Air National Guard music video, by Senior Master Sergeant Jennifer Shirar, point of view of an F-15C Crew Chief:

F-15 50th Anniversary: SANDMAN’S SWAN SONG?