Davis-Monthan Air Force Base closed a half-century A-10 chapter in September when four units tied to the Thunderbolt II mission were inactivated. The Sept. 18 ceremony honored the Airmen who flew, maintained and trained A-10 crews at the Arizona base, where the first aircraft arrived in 1975.

The units inactivated were the 355th Operations Group, 357th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Generation Squadron and 355th Training Squadron. The ceremony marked the end of Davis-Monthan’s A-10 legacy; it did not announce the retirement of every A-10 in the Air Force.

Training and operational work at Davis-Monthan

From 1992 through 2026, the 355th Operations Group controlled flying units assigned to the 355th Wing and provided A-10 capabilities for close air support, forward air control and combat search and rescue. The group also deployed personnel and oversaw formal initial and requalification training for A-10 pilots.

That training role gave the base significance beyond its own flightline. Davis-Monthan’s A-10 units prepared pilots for the aircraft’s specialized missions and helped sustain the experience needed to operate it. The ceremony brought current and former Airmen, families, retired pilots and local leaders together to recognize that work.

A ceremony for the people behind the aircraft

Commanders cased the guidons of the four units as they relinquished their responsibilities. The program included remarks from Col. Jose Cabrera, commander of the 355th Wing, and retired Lt. Gen. Glen “Wally” Moorhead, who said he first flew the A-10 at Davis-Monthan on Nov. 7, 1975. A two-ship A-10 flyover closed the event.

The Air Force is also transferring documents and memorabilia from the 355th Operations Group, 357th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Generation Squadron and 355th Training Squadron to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. The collection will preserve records of the base’s A-10 operations and the people who supported them.

The Thunderbolt II earned a reputation around its close-air-support mission, but the Davis-Monthan ceremony placed the focus on the organizations behind that role: pilots, maintainers, instructors and support personnel. Their units have now been inactivated, while the aircraft’s broader service continues elsewhere.

Photo: Current and former Airmen pose beside an A-10C Thunderbolt II at the Davis-Monthan ceremony. Photo: Staff Sgt. Jasmyne Bridgers-Matos/U.S. Air Force via DVIDS. The appearance of U.S. Department of War visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.

Source: 355th Wing, “Final A-10 units inactivate at Davis-Monthan.”