New name for Detachment 3

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  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Currier
FORT WORTH, Texas --  Detachment 3, the wing's active duty associate, was formally realigned under 9th Air Force during an activation ceremony at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, March 8.

The group's activation is part of the Air Force's ongoing initiative to integrate traditional, active-duty Airmen with Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units to streamline training and resource use. Such integrated units are called active associate units.

The 495th Fighter Group is responsible for guiding 10 active associate, 9th Air Force-affiliated fighter detachments located at host Guard and Reserve units across the country. These units pair traditional active-duty fighter pilots and aircraft maintainers with their Guard and Reserve counterparts to generate efficiency and cost savings by sharing resources and reducing duplication of efforts.

"My job is to make sure the active-duty Airmen and their families assigned to these locations are taken care of," said Lt. Col. Juris Jansons, who took command of the 495th Fighter Group during the activation ceremony.

Prior to the activation ceremony, five of 495th Fighter Group's 10 detachments were already established. Four units flying F-16s in South Carolina, Vermont, Florida and Texas, reported to the 20th Operations Group here. The fifth detachment, flying A-10s in Missouri, reported to the 23rd Operations Group at Moody Air Force Base, Ga.

The significance of the event is it marks, for the first time, the transfer of administrative control for these active associate detachments to one commander - Colonel Jansons, said 9th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen Lawrence Wells, who presided over the ceremony.

Five years ago, Air Force leaders recognized a changing force structure and budget constraints demanded creative ways to generate experienced fighter pilots. Their solution was to leverage the Guard's and Reserve's experience, continuity and assets through an initiative called Total Force Integration. 

The 495th Fighter Group's legacy dates back to World War II to the 495th Fighter Training Group, established in England Oct. 9, 1943. Then, the group flew and maintained the P-47 Thunderbolt. After World War II, the 495th Fighter Training Group was disbanded April 15, 1945, due to the end of fighting in the European theater.

"Just like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, today the 495th Fighter Group rises again, proudly displaying its World War II heritage and taking on a mission our Air Force so desperately needs," General Wells said. 

"I expect this to be an extremely rewarding experience for us and the 301st Fighter Wing," said Lt. Col. Matthew Cliver, Det. 457 commander .

(Senior Airman Melissa Harvey also contributed to this story.)