The 60th Fighter Squadron was stationed at Eglin AFB, Florida. The squadron received their first F-15A/B’s in 1978. In 1979 the unit participated in the “Kadena Ready Eagle” program in which the members of the 60th trained new F-15 pilots stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan.
The 60th made its first combat deployment since World War II when it sent ten F-15s to Grenada in support of Operation Urgent Fury, the rescue of American medical students held in Grenada in the mid 1980s. The unit continued to train and hone its combat fighting skills until it was called upon to fly support missions for Operation Just Cause (the removal of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega from Panama in the early 1990s).
The Fighting Crows scored one air to air kill during Operation Desert Storm. The 60th Fighter Squadron flew its last F-15 mission on 5 December 2008. The squadron was inactivated on 1 January 2009. The Eagles were handed over to various ANG units.
60th FS group photo during Red Flag, Nellis AFB.
Fighting Crows take part in Red Flag Alaska
OVER ALASKA — Five 60th Fighter Squadron F-15Cs, from the 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., soar over the mountains ranges of Alaska during their overseas deployment to Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, to participate in Red Flag Alaska 07-1. The exercise is to prepare them for their Air Expeditionary Force 9/10 deployment window. Approximately 16 F-15s and more than 240 Airmen traveled to Elmendorf March 28, 2007 as part of the deployment. (U.S. Air Force photo)
60th Fighter Squadron’s Last F-15 Flight
12/5/2008 – Lt. Col. Mike Winkler, 60th Fighter Squadron commander, recieves the traditional Air Force fini flight wet down by fellow “Fighting Crows.” It wasn’t the end of the pilot’s career but the final 60th FS sortie for the unit that will realign under the 58th Fighter Squadron in preparation for the 33rd Fighter Wing’s drawdown. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Chrissy Cuttita)An F-15 Eagle aircraft of the 60th Tactical Fighter Squadron taxies out of the Center Marguerite during Exercise CORNET PHASER, a NATO rapid deployment exercise conducted under simulated wartime conditions, Lahr AB, Germany (SSGT Fernando Serna)
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Squadron photos
60TFS/33TFW Eglin AFB F-15A 76-0026 at Mtn. Home AFB, ID for exercise Owhyee Roundup in July 1982. Pilots kneeling in front row (left to right): 1Lt Ron ‘Arlo’ Guthrie, Capt Rich ‘Commander’ Hill, Capt Dick Estes, L/C Mike Ridnouer (60TFS Squadron Commander), Capt Mike ‘Sly’ Lee, Capt Stan ‘Sundance’ Kasprzyk, Capt Steve Ward
60 Fighter squadron group photo, date and location unknown. Let me know if you have more info on this photo
Col. Mark De Bolt and Chief Frank Sanchez during Chief Sanchez retirement ceremony 1993
85-095 in better days, location and author unknown
Maj. Steve Knight of the 60th TFS attends a mission planning meeting during a Coronet Phaser deployment. The Coronet Phaser program tests the readiness of U.S. based units to deploy to and operate in Europe in the 1980’s.
Lt. Col. Steve “Pimp” Thompson and Capt. Rodney “Shocker” Landsberg, F-15C Eagle pilots with the 60th Fighter Squadron (FS), 33rd Fighter Wing (FW), Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida, fly formation with a pair of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters, front, flown by pilots from Germany’s (DEU) 73rd Fighter Wing (FW) “Steinhoff,” Laage Air Base (AB), DEU.
Staff Sgt. Doug Ruggerio prepares to launch a F-15 Eagle from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., on Oct. 22, 1996, during William Tell 96. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald
