The Elephant Walk showcases the 127th Wing’s Motto, We Stand Ready, and demonstrates the Wing’s readiness and ability to generate combat airpower at a moments notice.
Taken on Jan. 21, 2020 at Selfridge Air National Guard Base the photos in this post show A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft flown by the 107th fighter Squadron performing an ‘Elephant Walk‘ on the runway as they deploy for Snowbird.
The Elephant Walk showcases the 127th Wing’s Motto, We Stand Ready, and demonstrates the Wing’s readiness and ability to generate combat airpower at a moments notice.
The 127th Wing was created in 1996 by the merger of the 127th Fighter Wing and the 191st Airlift Group.
Based at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mich, the 127th Wing operates KC-135 Stratotankers, providing global aerial refueling capability in support of Air Mobility Command, and the A-10 Warthog, flying the close air support mission in support of Air Combat Command.
The 127th Wing includes one of the oldest existing units in the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the 107th Fighter Squadron. First organized as the 107th Aero Squadron in 1917, the unit was de-activated after World War I. After meeting in a garage in Detroit in 1925, the 107th Observation Squadron – consisting of 20 officers and 90 Airmen — received federal recognition and has been in continuous operation since that time. During World War II, the unit was sent to England and flew combat support and reconnaissance during D-Day and through the end of the war in Europe. After the 2001 Terror Attacks, the Wing began flying air superiority patrols over the Detroit region and stood on 24-hour alert. In 2004, the unit was the first to fly the F-16 Falcon from a base inside Iraq. It began flying the A-10 in 2009.
The Wing’s 171st Air Refueling Squadron traces its roots to World War II, when it was established as a unit flying the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Command. During the Korean War it was activated to serve as a pilot training unit in the American Southwest. In the 1970s, it began flying the F-106 Delta Dart and the unit became known as the “Six Pack,” a moniker it retains until this day. After many years of flying C-130 aircraft, the 171st transitioned to the aerial refueling mission in 2008. Since that time, the 127th ARG and its KC-135 aircraft have supported operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and other locations.
Photo credit: Munnaf Joarder, 127th Wing Public Affairs / U.S. Air Force
