The ‘Assam Draggins’ come home…

Every squadron has a personality – forged by history and by many men and women who through the course of time have left their mark on the squadron. The squadron as it moves from place to place to different locations assimilates the cultures of the places and it shapes the squadron’s culture as well. Individual experiences melt and evolve a squadron’s personality through time.

The 25th FS has a long history since WW II. It was raised as the 25th Pursuit Squadron on 15th January 1941 at Hamilton Field in California. It was part of the 51st Pursuit Group out of March Field, California. P-40 Warhawks were delivered to the squadron in July. The 25th Pursuit Squadron was immediately dispatched to war in the Pacific theater in January 1942, after the United States got pulled into WW-II. It sailed to the Indian sub-continent via Australia and were stationed at Karachi, India (now in Pakistan). The squadron was then moved to Dinjan, in Assam in the east near the China-Burma-India (CBI) border. Combat operations started immediately because of the Japanese advancing towards India. Most of the flying was done over the mountainous terrain of the Himalayas between China, Burma and India called ‘The Hump’. The China-Burma-India theater objective was to resupply Allied forces fighting the Japanese military in China. The challenge of ‘The Hump’ made the mission difficult and treacherous, where transport aircraft climbed a drastic rate of 300 feet per minute until they reached 18,000 feet to navigate the Himalayan mountains. This involved long hours of flying over ‘The Hump’, then provide bomber escort and close air support including bombing and strafing enemy troop concentrations, bridges, supply depots, and enemy communication centers and then fly back to base in Dinjan. The P-40 Warhawks were loaded with 1000-lbs bombs and that added the weight carried and reduced the climb performance over “The Hump”. The flights to the combat areas certainly did add an element of ‘drag’ to such an effect that the term ‘my ass am draggin’ came into existence and the 25th Pursuit Squadron named themselves as ‘Assam Draggins’.

Medium bombers were required to halt the enemy advance. The officers of the 25th innovated and adapted the P-40 Warhawk to carry a 1000-lb bomb and resumed their attacks that was successful in stopping the enemy advance. The squadron returned back to the United States and was inactivated in 1945. In October 1946 the squadron was re-activated at Naha Air Base (AB) in Okinawa, Japan and flew P-47 Thunderbolts and later P-80 Shooting Stars. During the Korean conflict in 1951 the squadron received the famous F-86 Sabre fighter aircraft. After a brief stay in Florida, USA, the squadron was in the thick of combat operations during the Vietnam War being stationed initially at Ubon AB and then moved to Udorn AB in Thailand flying the legendary F-4 Phantom fighter. After the Vietnam War, the squadron was moved to Kadena AB and in 1981 was moved to Suwon AB in Republic of Korea and assigned to the 51st Composite Wing. In January 1982, the 25th FS got the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II aka Warthog close-air support aircraft. Since October 1993, the 25th FS is permanently stationed in Osan AB, Republic of Korea. The 25th FS is today the only squadron operating the A-10 Warthog PCSed (permanent change of station) outside the continental US. However, Starting in January 2025, the 25th Fighter Squadron at Osan AB will begin a phased withdrawal of its 24 A-10 aircraft, with completion expected by the end of fiscal year 2025. Additionally, Seventh Air Force F-16s are undergoing a series of avionics system upgrades, bringing the aircraft closer to fifth-generation capabilities as they increase both the survivability and accuracy of the weapon system.

Coming to the present day, Lt. Col. Justin ‘RIOT’ Davis is the current Commanding Officer (CO) of the 25th FS. He graduated in October 2010 and was assigned to the 354th FS ‘Bulldogs’ at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. He has flown in Op. ‘Enduring Freedom’ in Bagram, Afghanistan and Op. ‘Inherent Resolve’ operating out of Incirlik, Turkey. He took over as the CO of the 25th FS in May 2023. Stating the primary mission of the 25th FS, he said The 25th Fighter Squadron is stationed in South Korea to Deter Aggression in the Pacific, Defend the Republic of Korea should deterrence fail on the Korean Peninsula, and Develop Attack pilots with the skill, proficiency, and the ‘Attack Mindset’ that is required to accomplish our mission.” The 25th FS recently participated in the Phase II of an exercise that was organized by the Indian Air Force (IAF) called Ex. Tarang Shakti 24. The Phase I of Ex. Tarang Shakti involved the air forces of Germany, United Kingdon, Spain and France and took place at Sulur in the southeast part of India. Phase II of the exercise included air forces from Australia, Greece, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sri Lanka, Japan and the United States and took place at Jodhpur which is to the northwest part of India. On the reason the A-10s wanted to participate in the exercise, Lt Col. Davis explained “The IAF invited the United States Air Force to participate in Ex Tarang Shakti 2024 and PACAF asked for volunteer units. Our squadron eagerly volunteered to participate because we share a deep connection with India, dating back to 1942. Returning to India enabled our squadron to connect with our historical roots and gave us the opportunity to build upon the strategic relationship between the United States and India, as well as the other participating nations during TS24.” The exercise was a week-long and included mission planning and large force engagements (LFEs) both in the day and at night. Speaking about the advantages of participating in such an exercise, he added “During the LFE phase, each participating nation brought a certain expertise to the planning and execution. For the US and the A-10s, we brought a detailed knowledge of Close Air Support and Aerial Interdiction missions. Other nations brought expertise in command and control, air to air missions, and SEAD, to name a few. Together, we learned from each other and formed a team with the end goal of regional stability and security in this part of the world.”

Giving details about the DLOs (desired learning objectives) for the squadron, Lt Col. Davis said “We had two different types of objectives for TS24: Strategic and Tactical. For the Strategic objectives, the US’ goal during TS24 is to continue to develop our strategic relationships with the participating nations and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. On the tactical side, we had three main DLOs. The first was to give our new pilots exposure to different nations’ aircraft and tactics in an LFE construct. The second DLO was to give our pilots exposure to DACT (dissimilar Air Combat Training). With the various types of aircraft that India operates, such as the Su-30MKI, Rafales, Mirages, and the Tejas, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our pilots to be able to train with these aircraft that few have seen, and the pilots that fly them. The final DLO was to train to Close Air Support with another nation and their airspace. We brought two JTACs from the 607th ASOG and they teamed up with the IAF special forces Garuds. This was a great opportunity to exchange ground tactics and give the Garuds the chance to control A-10s during CAS training.”

Capt. Noah Evans has been with the 25th FS since July 2024. He provided some details about the prep work and interactions with the IAF for this exercise “Our projects officer, Capt “Breakir” Henigman, has been working for months to coordinate our participation in this exercise, to include a preliminary site visit to get familiar with the airfield and the facilities we’d be using. It’s been enlightening for me to see how much work goes into planning and executing an exercise of this scale. We brought six jets and had to coordinate with AMC (Air Mobility Command) to bring mission-essential equipment for our temporary vault, mission prep materials, personnel, and support gear for us to fly in India. The same level of planning goes for the tankers who dragged us here – it’s a huge logistical operation to move six jets and part of a squadron to an out base in a foreign country. Once established, there’s countless details to internalize like specific departure procedures, entry/exit procedures from the airspace and ranges, local rules, etc. It’s been fascinating to learn all the small differences in the way each nation operates, contributing to our interoperability. For example, Indian ATC (Air Traffic Control) gives altimeter settings to us in millibars that we need to convert internally to inches Hg (mercury) to use that information in our jet. In a joint flight with the IAF, one of their pilots asked us if we had enough “gravy” to RTB (Return to Base), and it took us a few moments to clarify they were referencing our fuel state. I’m sure this goes both ways as we use some terms that might be foreign to them as well. As the exercise and level of interaction progresses, so does our mutual understanding.”

“The schedule here at the exercise has been hectic but fulfilling. The day prior to a LFE (Large Force Exercise), we have a Mission Planning Cell where all the pilots from participating nations for the vul (vulnerability period) meet up to plan the following day’s mission. It takes almost 12 hours to thoroughly plan for the mission, to include de-confliction blocks for participating aircraft and the specific tactics to achieve that vul’s mission objectives. We then go and execute on those plans the next day and debrief when we return. In the multiple vuls I’ve helped plan and fly in, mission commander opportunities have been spread across different nations, so every country gets the chance to lead, brief, and debrief the mission on different days.”

“One of the highlights for me from this exercise was a 2v1 mission we flew against an Indian Su-30MKI. It was a unique experience flying the mission and debriefing it as well, and I’ll treasure that experience for the rest of my life. The flight was great training for all of us as well an opportunity to build friendships and mutual respect. We traded patches on the ground after the flight, and the saddle bag I fly with in the A-10 currently has a SU-30 patch with the callsign of the pilot we flew against during the sortie. Now when I see those guys around during the exercise we wave at each other, remembering the shared experience.”

“Being a fighter pilot requires a lot of continuous study and preparation. Even during exercises like this one, pilots are always getting ready for the next available upgrade. In the A-10, upgrades include 2-Ship Flight Lead, 4-Ship Flight Lead, Combat Search and Rescue (SANDY4 through SANDY1), FAC-A (Forward Air Controller-Airborne), and the pinnacle of Instructor Pilot (IP). In fact, one of my friends is preparing for his “SANDY4” upgrade during this very exercise since there is an upcoming CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) vul. I think it’s amazing we have the chance to accomplish standard upgrades amidst this non-standard opportunity to integrate in a multinational exercise.”

Reflecting on the experiences accumulated during the exercise, Capt. Evans said, “The IAF has been super welcoming to us and overall it’s been a fun experience even outside the flying. There was an International Night where the Indians put on an event that allowed each of the participating countries to showcase their cultures. As Americans we planned a country line dance, and we ended up having a bunch of Australians and Japanese join us up onstage to dance with us. When I reflect on this experience in the future, I think it’s neat I now have shared experiences with people I’ve met or flown with here – instead of just thinking about their country’s Air Force, I can now picture faces too.”

Lt Col. Davis while giving his impressions about the exercise said “I want to give a personal thanks to the IAF for inviting us to be a part of this exercise. It is huge for our Air Force and the United States, of course. But it is extremely rewarding to bring the 25 FS back to India 82 years later. We will travel to Assam, India at the conclusion of this exercise, thanks to the Indian Governments gracious invitation. As has been announced by the United States, our squadron is scheduled to close in 2025. We started this squadron in 1941, arriving in India in 1942, and we will now end this chapter of the 25 FS in Assam, India. I cannot imagine a better ending for our squadron and am very grateful for this opportunity to honor the heritage of the Assam Draggins. Pil Sung!”

In the end, Lt Col. Davis had one thing to add that I had not touched upon “I am very thankful to the IAF for inviting us to be part of the exercise. It is huge for the air forces in general, but it is special for our squadron. We hope to go to Chhabua and Pasighat after the exercise and re-connect with the roots of our squadron.” Capt. Evans repeated the same sentiment as well – “Another great experience here, especially on the Open Days, was seeing a lot of curiosity among the Indians when they saw the word ‘Assam’ on our squadron patch. A lot of them stopped and asked us what it meant. It was a great feeling to explain to them that our squadron had its initial combat operations in Assam back in WW-II and get a look of amazement.”

I happened to meet LtCol. Davis, and Capt. Evans among other members of the squadron at the airport on their way to Chhabua, in Assam and Pasighat, in Arunachal Pradesh. The group visited ‘The Hump WW-II’ Museum and paid their respects to the airmen who had made the ultimate sacrifice during the war. On Sep. 14-16, 2024, the Airmen reached their destination, “The Hump WWII Museum Pasighat,” a building dedicated to honoring the history and dedication of India’s service members and allies during World War II. It is a historic building filled with historic artifacts and information boards about the China-Burma-India theater. A photo by credit SrA Sabrina Fuller-Judd is shown below of the group visit.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II pilots and maintainers walked the museum’s halls, reflecting on the shared history of U.S. and Indian partnership, and the birthplace of their squadron’s namesake, the ‘Assam Draggins’. “Even being a small part of a bigger picture, it feels good to not only be a part of the U.S. Air Force history but our partner’s legacy,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Zachary Boyd, 25th FGS (Fighter Generation Squadron) assistant crew chief, one of a select few chosen to represent the 25th FGS during this visit. “It’s a privilege to witness our past deeds being recognized in Assam.”
Sincere heartfelt thanks to Lt. Col. Davis, Capt. Evans, SrA Fuller-Judd, MSgt. Stannard, Capt. Sumner and 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs as well as to the Indian Air Force Directorate of Media, Public Relations for their support and assistance to me to be able to write and capture the imagery for this article.