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81-594: Aviano Air Base ( IATA : AVB , ICAO : LIPA ) ( Italian : Base aerea di Aviano ) is a base in northeastern Italy , in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region . It is located in the Aviano municipality, at the foot of the Carnic Pre-Alps or Southern Carnic Alps , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Pordenone . The Italian Air Force has ownership, and administrative and military control of

162-501: A Bronze Star and Purple Heart for this mission. In November 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate O'Grady to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs). The President justified this intent to appoint by citing O'Grady's combat experience, his book Return With Honor , and Master's degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from

243-421: A 17-day Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training session he had undertaken near his hometown of Spokane, Washington . He ate leaves, grass, and bugs, and stored the little rainwater he could collect with a sponge in plastic bags. O'Grady radioed for help immediately but had to remain quiet with paramilitaries coming within feet of him; he used the radio following standard operating procedures as

324-417: A Bosnian Serb population that he was briefed would be unfriendly. He quickly secured a 29-pound (13 kg) survival bag, ran, and hid. Rubbing dirt on his face, he hid face-down as Bosnian Serb forces came upon his parachute, half a dozen times shooting their rifles only feet from where he was hidden in an effort to flush him out or kill him. During the next six days, he put to use the lessons learned during

405-548: A documentary, titled "Missing in Action", that was later purchased by 20th Century Fox and Discovery Communications . The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines , starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson , is loosely based on this event. Although O'Grady had given the film a positive rating on the film review television show Hot Or Not, O'Grady took offense at the portrayal of 'his' character in Behind Enemy Lines "as

486-525: A joint task force, the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing flew from Aviano and joined NATO allies in a 78-day air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia . From 24 March to 10 June 1999, the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest expeditionary wing in Air Force history flew nearly 9,000 combat sorties and accumulated almost 40,000 hours of combat service over the skies of Kosovo, Serbia and

567-507: A massive search and rescue operation took place to extract Captain Scott O'Grady of the 555th Fighter Squadron who was shot down over Bosnian-Serb controlled territory in Bosnia. A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 picked him up after he evaded capture for six days. In August and September, Operation Deliberate Force began and the 31st Fighter Wing conducted air strikes against Bosnian Serbs to give

648-531: A missile was coming, but, because he was flying through an overcast sky, he could not see it. The first missile exploded between the two aircraft. The second struck the F-16 piloted by O'Grady. His flight lead, Captain Robert Gordon "Wilbur" Wright, saw O'Grady's plane burst into flames and break in two. Wright did not see a parachute, but O'Grady survived by ejecting from the aircraft . O'Grady landed among

729-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

810-424: A pair of anti-tank Air Force A-10 Thunderbolts , an SH-60B from USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) , and an RAF AWACS E-3D. At 0635, the helicopters approached the area where O'Grady's signal beacon had been traced. The pilots saw bright yellow smoke coming from trees near a rocky pasture where O'Grady had set off a flare. The first Sea Stallion, commanded by Major William Tarbutton, touched down and 20 Marines jumped off

891-471: A pilot who disobeys orders and swears". O'Grady sued 20th Century Fox in 2002 for falsely misleading the public that the film was true to life. He also took action over the documentary, Behind Enemy Lines: The Scott O'Grady Story , which was a re-edited version of a BBC documentary which Discovery Communications, parent company of the Discovery Channel , had purchased and edited. The documentary

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972-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

1053-403: Is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot . On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina by a 2K12 Kub (NATO designation SA-6 "Gainful") mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile territory. US Marines from heavy-helicopter squadron HMH-464 and the 24 MEU(SOC) on AC number 21 eventually rescued O'Grady after nearly a week of his evading

1134-617: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

1215-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

1296-671: Is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

1377-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

1458-669: Is made up of four groups, each consisting of several squadrons. The 31st Operations Group ensures the combat readiness of two F-16CG squadrons, one air control squadron, and one operational support squadron conducting and supporting worldwide air operations. The group prepares fighter pilots , controllers, and support personnel to execute U.S. and NATO war plans and contingency operations. It trains, equips, plans, and provides weather, intelligence, standardization/evaluation, and command and control sustaining global flying operations. The 31st Maintenance Group provides peacetime and combat maintenance and munitions control, and executive support for

1539-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

1620-637: Is to provide infrastructure and service to support a premiere combat capability and quality of life to the 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano community and multiple geographically separated units. The 31st Medical Group supports the readiness of 31st Fighter Wing and associated units throughout the Southern Region, ensuring the health of its community by providing optimal patient-focused medical care from internal, Department of Defense and Host Nation resources. The unit employs medical resources and preventive initiatives to ensure airmen remain mission ready to support

1701-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

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1782-614: The 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines within the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit lifted off USS Kearsarge to rescue the pilot. The two helicopters were accompanied by two Marine Corps AH-1W Supercobra helicopter gunships and a pair of Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jump jets, one piloted by Captain Ronald C. Walkerwicz. These six aircraft had support from identical sets of replacement helicopters and jump jets as well as two Navy EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare planes, two Air Force EF-111A Raven electronic warfare planes, two Marine F/A-18D Hornets ,

1863-826: The 555th Fighter Squadron and the 510th Fighter Squadron , allowing it to fly both attack and defensive missions. Aviano Air Base was established by the Italian government in 1911 as the first airport in Italy, and was later used as training base for Italian pilots and construction facility for aircraft parts. During World War I , Italy used the airfield in missions against the Austro-Hungarian and German armies. At that time, two Italian aviators, Captain Maurizio Pagliano and Lieutenant Luigi Gori , conducted an unauthorized and unsuccessful but heroic air raid on

1944-464: The Air Force Chief of Staff , when the general told reporters attending a promotion ceremony that monitors had detected "intermittent" transmissions. A NATO official was quoted as saying "I was dumbfounded he said that... I mean, why not just announce to the bad guys, 'We think he's alive and kicking, and we hope we find him before you do'?" Just after midnight on June 8, O'Grady spoke into

2025-717: The Air Force Reserve , where he continued to fly the F-16. In May 2007, he completed a master's degree in biblical studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas , Texas. He resides in Frisco in Collin County, Texas . O'Grady is an active Republican , having spoken at the 1996 Republican convention in support of Bob Dole . In 2004, O'Grady, supporting George W. Bush for re-election, accused Bush's opponent John Kerry of "treason" for actions taken during

2106-564: The Bosnian Serbs . He was previously involved in the Banja Luka incident where he fired upon six enemy aircraft. The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based upon his experiences. In September 2011, O'Grady announced a run for the 2012 Republican nomination for Texas State Senate District 8 , held at the time by the retiring Republican Florence Shapiro , but he later suspended his campaign because of uncertainties over

2187-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

2268-535: The University of Portland in Oregon. Shortly before and during the nomination period, O'Grady promoted evidence-free conspiracy-theories about the 2020 United States presidential election , including claims that Trump won the election in a "landslide fashion", that millions of votes were "stolen from [Trump]", and that Hillary Clinton and George Soros were somehow involved in helping foreign agents interfere in

2349-711: The Vietnam War . O'Grady endorsed Brian Birdwell in his successful 2010 bid for the Texas State Senate , then launched his own candidacy for the Texas state house in September 2011, seeking the 2012 Republican nomination in Senate District 8 following the retirement of Sen. Florence Shapiro . O'Grady dropped out of the race in early 2012, claiming Shapiro had reneged on a promise to support him in

2430-581: The 31st Fighter Wing played a major role in the United Nations ' response to the crisis in Libya , known as Operation Odyssey Dawn , in enforcing no-fly zone. The wing hosted four flying units and more than 1,350 personnel during the 15-day operation, 17 to 31 March. It worked around the clock to launch 2,250 flying operations out of Aviano Air Base. As Operation Odyssey Dawn came to an end on 31 March, so began Operation Unified Protector , with NATO taking

2511-534: The 31st Fighter Wing, geographically separated units under the command and control of the wing, and units gained during advanced stages of readiness. The 31st MXG also responds to humanitarian and contingency logistics support requirements as directed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff through Headquarters U.S. Air Forces Europe to locations in Europe, Africa, and Southwest Asia. The 31st Mission Support Group's goal

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2592-441: The 555th deployed personnel and aircraft to Decimomannu Air Base , Sardinia , while the runway at Aviano was closed for repairs. The wing's support of Operation Iraqi Freedom began in late 2003. Aviano served as the launch point for airborne/air-land insertion of airborne forces opening a second front in northern Iraq. During that time, the wing secured, bedded and fed more than 2,300 Army and Air Force personnel. The operation,

2673-800: The Austro-Hungarian naval yards in Pula , in what is now Croatia . In their honor, the base's name was changed to Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori in 1919. During the war the airfield was also overrun by the Austro-German army between November 1917 and November 1918. After World War I, the airfield was again used as a training base. During World War II , both the Italian Air Force and the German Luftwaffe flew missions from Aeroporto Pagliano e Gori. British forces captured

2754-648: The Aviano Air Base in the kidnapping, on 17 February 2003, of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr , in the so-called " extraordinary rendition " program. The man, abducted in Milan by CIA agents, was taken to Aviano Air Base for interrogation before being transported via Ramstein Air Base in Germany to Alexandria , Egypt , and turned over to the custody of Egypt's State Security Intelligence . The 31st Fighter Wing

2835-508: The Cavalese cable car disaster, on 3 February 1998, a U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler jet flying too low on a training exercise from Aviano Air Base severed a cable car 's cable over the Alps at Cavalese , Italy, causing 20 deaths. On 4 November 2009, the conviction by an Italian court of 22 CIA agents, a U.S. Air Force colonel and two Italian SISMI secret agents confirmed the role of

2916-814: The Expeditionary Air Force, U.S. and NATO objectives worldwide. As of 2023, Aviano is one of six active air bases in five European countries with B61 nuclear bombs in underground WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System inside aircraft shelters; Ramstein Air Base has a vault but no nuclear weapons present and RAF Lakenheath s bunkers were being modernized. Flying and notable non-flying units based at Aviano Air Base. United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) Combat Forces Command The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) operates schools for children who are dependents of US military personnel. Aviano Elementary School and Aviano Middle High School are

2997-712: The Muslim forces an upper hand in the conflict. Peacekeeping operations continued in the Balkans through the end of 2004, when the European Union assumed responsibility for the region. In 1999, U.S. Air Forces in Europe activated the 31st Air Expeditionary Wing-Noble Anvil at Aviano for Operation Allied Force in the Province of Kosovo , which was not authorized by the UN Security Council . Assigned under

3078-607: The Republican primary, while his opponent had numerous endorsements. The shootdown incident was depicted and described on the documentary television program Situation Critical in episode No. 5, "Downed Pilot". This has been shown on the National Geographic Channel. It was also covered in "Escape! – Escape From Bosnia: The Scott O'Grady Story" on the History Channel . The BBC also made

3159-635: The Texas redistricting fight . In November 2020, President Donald Trump stated an official intention to nominate O'Grady as the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs . The nomination was submitted to the Senate for confirmation on November 30, 2020. Before and during the nomination, O'Grady had spread numerous debunked conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 United States presidential election , and calls by Michael Flynn for Trump to institute martial law . The Bosnian War

3240-439: The U.S. Air Force had taught him so as not to give away his position to unfriendly forces. On his 6th night on the ground he made radio contact, signalling his location using his radio's limited battery power. NATO warplanes conducting sorties in the Balkans had been picking up beeper snippets that they thought could be coming from O'Grady. This extremely sensitive information was inadvertently revealed by General Ronald Fogleman ,

3321-500: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Scott O%27Grady 1993 1994 1995 Scott Francis O'Grady (born October 12, 1965)

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3402-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

3483-580: The aircraft and set up a defensive perimeter. As the second Sea Stallion, commanded by Captains Paul Fortunato and James Wright, landed, a figure with a pistol who turned out to be the missing pilot appeared running towards the Marines and immediately went to the Sea Stallion. As the side door opened, he was pulled in before the second 20 Marines poised to leave by the rear ramp could even move. They were called back to their seats, and those who had formed

3564-434: The aircraft landed without further incident. On August 11, 1995, a USAF RQ-1 Predator drone was shot down by Serb forces in the same area. The Serbs recovered the wreckage and handed it over to Russia for technical evaluation. On August 30, NATO launched Operation Deliberate Force , a massive airstrike campaign which eventually lifted the siege of Sarajevo and led to the end of the war in Bosnia. O'Grady received

3645-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

3726-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

3807-558: The base in 1945; they conducted air operations there until 1947, when the Italian Air Force resumed operational use of the airport. The USAF first arrived in Aviano in the winter of 1954. The 40th Tactical Group was created 1 April 1966. The 1976 earthquake caused no damage. As part of the most extensive restructuring since the Air Force became a separate service, Tactical Air Command was inactivated and Air Combat Command

3888-475: The base. It hosts the U.S. Air Force 's 31st Fighter Wing and per nuclear sharing is one of six active air bases in five European countries with B61 nuclear bombs in underground WS3 Weapon Storage and Security System inside aircraft shelters. The 31st Fighter Wing is the only U.S. fighter wing south of the Alps. The 31st Fighter Wing is made up of two General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter squadrons,

3969-455: The bullets hit inside the fuselage. One door gunner returned fire. One round hit some communication gear in the chopper and the bullet ended up against Sergeant Major Angel Castro Jr.'s armor without injuring anyone. At 0715 local time, 30 minutes after picking up O'Grady, the rescuers reported "feet wet", meaning they were over water. O'Grady was back aboard the Kearsarge at 0730. All of

4050-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

4131-583: The defensive perimeter reboarded the other helicopter. After a quick head count, the Stallions took off. They had been on the ground no more than seven minutes. The Marines, with O'Grady, flew low over Serb-held Bosnia. However, American aircraft detected a Serb missile radar along the Croatian coast, scanning for targets. An American plane recommended destroying the Serb radar, code-named Giraffe. The request

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4212-775: The election. On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate . On December 14, 2020 the Department of Defense announced that the Trump administration nominated O'Grady to the Defense Policy Board , as a part of a slate of replacement nominations for the 11 board members who were abruptly fired in November 2020. O'Grady

4293-533: The election. Additionally, O'Grady signaled support for conspiracy theories by Sidney Powell alleging an international conspiracy of politicians, CIA agents, communists, and deceased former president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez working with Dominion Voting Systems to rig the election for Biden; retweeted attacks calling former Defense Secretary James Mattis a "traitor"; and endorsed a petition allegedly shared by former national security advisor Michael Flynn which recommended Trump declare martial law to overturn

4374-934: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

4455-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

4536-478: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

4617-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

4698-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

4779-538: The largest airborne operation since 1989, constituted 62 missions, transporting 2,146 passengers and 2,433.7 tons of cargo. Since the beginning of combat operations in Iraq, forces from the wing have been on regular combat rotations into the region. In late 2003, the wing's 603rd Air Control Squadron became the first unit from the wing to deploy to Iraq. They also relocated their entire operation from Baghdad International Airport to Balad Air Base . Under combat conditions,

4860-565: The lead until the operation's conclusion 31 October of that year. Aviano F-16s again returned to the skies over Libya in June 2014. Due to significant fighting in Tripoli during the 2014 Libyan conflict the U.S embassy was evacuated. During a five-hour non-combatant evacuation operation , three F-16s launched from Aviano guarded the evacuation of American citizens as embassy staff and U.S Marines convoyd overland from Tripoli into Tunisia . In

4941-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

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5022-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

5103-411: The radio. An F-16 pilot, Captain Thomas "T.O." Hanford, from the 510th responded and, after confirming his identity, the rescue was set in motion. At 0440 local time, USAF General Michael Ryan and Navy Admiral Leighton Smith , commander of NATO Southern Forces, called US Marine Corps Colonel Martin Berndt aboard USS Kearsarge with orders to "execute". Two CH-53 Sea Stallions with 51 marines from

5184-517: The rest of the Balkans in support of NATO operations. The wing accomplished much during OAF as the two permanently assigned flying squadrons, the 510th and 555th, flew more than 2,400 combined sorties and more than 10,000 combat hours. In 2000, the wing began deployments in support of the Expeditionary Air Force . From March to September 2000, the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons conducted back-to-back deployments to Ahmad al-Jaber AB , Kuwait , in support of Operation Southern Watch . While at Al Jaber,

5265-451: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

5346-507: The squadron transferred $ 73 million in equipment and more than 100 personnel with 20 convoys. On 10 April 2004, insurgents launched a mortar attack on Balad, killing Airman 1st Class Antoine Holt and injuring two other 603rd Air Control Squadron members. Airman Holt's death constituted the 31st Fighter Wing's first combat fatality since the Vietnam War. The 31st Fighter Wing continued deploying forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, with more than one-third of

5427-410: The squadrons flew more than 400 combat sorties. From June through December 2001, the fighter squadrons deployed combat search and rescue capabilities three times and helped enforce the no-fly zone over Iraq. From August to December 2002, the 510th Fighter Squadron and 603rd Air Control Squadron returned to Southwest Asia. The two squadrons supported Operation Enduring Freedom . Simultaneously,

5508-452: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

5589-468: The two DoDEA schools on the property. Pest extermination is the responsibility of the 31st Civil Engineer Squadron. Air bases with US nuclear weapon vaults in Europe: Some of this text in an early version of this article was taken from pages on the Aviano Air Base website , which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource . That information was supplemented by: IATA airport code The assignment of these codes

5670-401: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

5751-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

5832-542: The wing deploying to support operations each year from 2003 to 2007. In 2007, the 555th Fighter Squadron deployed to Kunsan Air Base in the Republic of Korea . Since arriving at Aviano, the wing has also participated in numerous training exercises with international partners, including training deployments to Latvia , the Czech Republic , Romania , Bulgaria , Spain , Slovenia and Poland . In March 2011,

5913-527: Was activated and the 31st Tactical Fighter Wing was redesignated to its current name, the 31st Fighter Wing. To avoid losing the wing's heritage and history as the highest scoring Army Air Force unit in the Mediterranean Theater in WW II, the impressive combat record in the Vietnam War and a number of significant firsts they produced in the early years of the Air Force, the 31st Fighter Wing

5994-603: Was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) decided to intervene in the Bosnian War after allegations of war crimes against civilians were made by various media organizations. NATO military involvement primarily involved enforcement of a no-fly zone codenamed Operation Deny Flight to discourage Bosnian Serb military aircraft from attacking Bosnian government and Bosnian Croat forces. In February 1994, Grady

6075-647: Was born in Brooklyn , New York City , a son of William P. O'Grady and Mary Lou Scardapane, and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington . He is a former cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and a 1989 Air Force ROTC graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 's campus in Prescott, Arizona . After his rescue, O'Grady transferred from active duty in the regular U.S. Air Force to

6156-784: Was broadcast several times on the Discovery Channel, and O'Grady accused Fox of using it to promote the film. Both suits were settled in 2004. Fox made a confidential settlement with O'Grady, while a Texas court ruled against O'Grady and in favor of Discovery Communications. The judge's ruling stated, in effect, that the events in a person's life are not the same thing as that person's likeness or image. O'Grady co-wrote two books, collaborating on one, with Michael French, that detailed his experiences of being shot down over Bosnia and his eventual rescue, Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady. He first wrote

6237-578: Was chosen to move rather than fade into obscurity. On 1 April 1994, the 31st Fighter Wing inactivated at Homestead AFB and subsequently activated at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in place of the 401st Fighter Wing . The 31st Fighter Wing received two new squadrons at that time, the 555th and 510th Fighter Squadrons , along with their Block-40 F-16s. The wing immediately became involved with events in Bosnia in May 1994 as part of Operation Deny Flight . In June 1995,

6318-409: Was denied, partly out of concern that a strike could spark wider conflict. Minutes later, the Marines reported they were under fire. Three shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles had been fired at them but missed, as the helicopter pilots—flying 150 feet (46 m) off the ground at 175 mph (282 km/h)—jinked to evade them. Serb small arms pocked both helicopters; the Marines aboard heard

6399-423: Was involved in the Banja Luka incident where he, along with several other F-16 pilots, engaged Bosnian jets who were in violation of the no-fly zone. Later, as part of the 555th Fighter Squadron based at Aviano Air Base , Italy, he was piloting one of two F-16s patrolling the skies above Bosnia on June 2, 1995. On the ground, a Bosnian Serb army 2K12 Kub surface-to-air missile battery near Mrkonjić Grad

6480-417: Was readying to fire its missiles on NATO aircraft. These Serbs had moved the mobile-tracked missile battery and laid a trap. They switched on their missile radars intermittently, giving F-16 fighters little warning. Waiting until a plane was directly overhead, where the aircraft's warning and countermeasures would be at their weakest, they fired two missiles. In the cockpit, O'Grady's instruments alerted him that

6561-702: Was sworn in as the board member on January 19, 2021, the last full day of Trump's presidency, under pressure from the White House to complete his and other similar nominations. Following the election of President Joe Biden , Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a "zero-based review" of all the Pentagon advisory boards and fired all of the members appointed by the DoD, including all the Defense Policy Board members, effective February 16, 2021. O'Grady

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