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The 113th Wing at Andrews AFB, Maryland, received the 2002 Spaatz Trophy, awarded to the overall outstanding ANG flying unit. The trophy, presented by the National Guard Association of the United States, was named for Gen. Carl Spaatz, the first chief of staff of the independent Air Force. The award criteria covers seven areas: events of national and international significance, exercises and deployments, operational airlift missions, human resources, accident-rate history, unit awards, and community involvement. Although the 113th excels in all of these areas, Brig. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., wing commander, believes that the unit was recognized primarily for two major events that occurred last year. The first event was a deployment in April 2001 to Argentina at the request of the US State Department. The unit deployed eight F-16 Fighting Falcons, forty-four tons of cargo, and 143 people to support Operation Southern Falcon. Wing pilots flew 118 sorties (278 flying hours) against the Argentine Mirages and A-4s. The second event was the response to the 11 September terrorist attacks. Minutes after the airliner struck the Pentagon, an F-16 was launched to intercept the terrorist-controlled airliner headed toward Washington. The airliner eventually crashed in Pennsylvania. The wing immediately established and maintained a combat air patrol with F-16s patrolling continuously for the next sixty hours. The 113th again flew combat air patrols from December until the late spring when the unit began the alert mission it continues today. |
