190th Fighter Squadron

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190th Fighter Squadron
Squadron insignia
Active	October 13, 1946 – present
Country	United States
Allegiance	Idaho, United States
Branch	Idaho Air National Guard / United States Air Force
Type	Attack
Role	Close air support
Garrison/HQ	Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho
Equipment	A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft
Battles/wars	Operation Southern Watch Operation Iraqi Freedom
Commanders
Notable commanders	Thomas G. Lanphier

The 190th Fighter Squadron is a squadron of the 124th Wing of the Idaho Air National Guard. The squadron is based at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho.

Established in 1946, the squadron currently operates the A-10 Thunderbolt II ground attack aircraft. The squadron was deployed to the Middle-East in 2003 to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Two of the 190th's pilots were involved in a friendly fire incident during the invasion on March 28, 2003 in which a British soldier was killed and five others wounded.

1 History
2 Invasion of Iraq friendly fire incident
3 References
- 3.1 Notes
- 3.2 Web

[edit] History

The squadron was established on October 13, 1946 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Thomas G. Lanphier, who was one of the pilots involved with shooting-down and killing Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during World War II. Having no aircraft at first, the squadron met in a "small" building on Fort Street in downtown Boise, Idaho.^[1]

In 1947 the squadron received its first aircraft, the P-51 Mustang, and relocated to nearby Gowen Field. In 1950 the squadron was called to active duty by the United States Air Force to replace Air Force units in the United States (U.S.) that had been deployed to the Korean War. In 1953 the unit began operating the F-86 Sabre. Over the next 23 years, the squadron changed aircraft four more times to fly the F-94 Starfire, F-89 Scorpion, F-86L Sabre Jet, and the F-102 Delta Dagger.^[2]

In 1975 the squadron changed its name to the 190th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and changed aircraft to the F-4 Phantom II. The squadron operated this aircraft for the next 20 years. With this aircraft, the squadron provided aerial photography support during the Teton Dam disaster as well as deploying to support NATO missions from Canada and Norway.^[3]

In 1991 the squadron changed aircraft to the F4G Wild Weasel and with its parent unit, the 124th Fighter Group, became a reserve component of the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command. In this capacity, the squadron deployed to Southwest Asia several times between 1993 and 1995 in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Provide Comfort.^[4]

A 190th A-10 operates in Hawaii.

In 1995 the unit began operating the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft. With these aircraft, the squadron deployed to support Operation Allied Force in 1999 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.^[5] A 190th pilot, Major Mark Moynihan, was killed in a training accident in a squadron A-10 aircraft on January 20, 2000.^[6]

[edit] Invasion of Iraq friendly fire incident

Further information: 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident - March 28, 2003

As part of the invasion of Iraq and supporting the British portion of that operation called Operation Telic, on March 28, 2003 two 190th A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, flown by an unidentified Major and Lieutenant Colonel Gus Kohntopp, flew a mission to destroy artillery and rocket launchers from Iraq's 6th Armor Division, dug in 25 miles north of Basra. During the mission, the two A-10 aircraft mistakenly attacked a patrol of four armored vehicles from D Squadron of the British Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry that were supporting the 16 Air Assault Brigade in Operation Telic. As a result of the attack by the 190th A-10 aircraft, British Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed and five of his colleagues were injured, four seriously.^[7]^[8]

The aftermath of the attack has caused controversy, especially in the United Kingdom (UK), as some, including Hull's family, have complained of a lack of cooperation into the British inquest of the incident by the United States government and the UK's Ministry of Defense (MoD). The United States and UK MoD denied for a period of time that a video existed of the incident and then later admitted that a video existed but couldn't be released because it was "classified." On February 6, 2007 The Sun tabloid newspaper obtained a copy of the cockpit video from the A-10 aircraft, which they released to the public on their website.^[9]

In a statement, Lt. Tony Vincelli, spokesman for the 190th Fighter Squadron said the U.S. Air Force had conducted its own investigation into the incident in 2003, but the results of that investigation or the names of the two 190th pilots involved were not publicly released. He added that the investigation, "did not result in a court-martial."^[10] In a further statement, Vincelli apologized for the incident and stated that no adverse action was taken against either pilot involved. On February 6, 2007 the Sun named one of the 190th pilots involved as "Colonel" Gus Kohntopp.^[11]^[12] "Sources" within the 190th Fighter Squadron have told reporters that they have been "threatened with court martial" if they speak about the friendly fire incident without permission.^[13]