45 FS designation confirmed Published March 7, 2008 By Tech. Sgt. Robert J. Horstman 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs Barksdale AFB, La -- It's official! The 45th Fighter Squadron was confirmed in January as the unit designation for the new A-10 reserve associate unit at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The 45 FS, assigned to the 917th Operations Group, will fly with the 355th Fighter Wing. Its mission will be to support A-10 pilot training, according to Col. Ozzie Gorbitz, 917 OG commander. Following a site activation task force visit in January, Lt. Cols. Rod Glass and Terry McClain, senior leadership, are now laying the groundwork for the development of their 24-man team. "Building a unit from scratch has its challenges," said Colonel Gorbitz. "They are establishing processes and procedures, writing a host/tenant agreement, and building flight records...all from the ground up." "This will be a reserve association, where reservists will associate (directly) with active duty. We're taking lessons learned from other associate units, success stories like the 355th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf," he said. "This total force initiative will provide highly skilled and experienced Hawgdrivers, who want to leave active duty but not the mission, the option to do so in the reserve component," said Colonel Glass. The 45 FS leadership is in the process of hiring their first four A-10 instructor pilots and one administration support person. According to Colonel Glass, they hope to have their full staff of 24 personnel on board within the next three years. "This TFI is about building relationships with people of two different viewpoints. The goals are common. We must learn how to communicate them," Colonel Gorbitz said. A formal squadron activation ceremony is set for September.