Established in 1965, the 148th Fighter Squadron “Fightin Wrens” would start flying three F-104s of their neighboring unit, the 195th Airlift Squadron, before receiving additional obsolete F-86s Sabres later that year. Despite their lackluster equipment and meager facilities, the Wrens would prove to be a capable unit, achieving remarkable results during practice drills, and winning a coveted ‘Best of the South’ award in 1970, usurping Califia for the title they had held since 1958.
with a brief transition in the 1970s to the A-7D, in the mid 1980s the Wrens would start flying the F-16, eventually seeing combat deployments in 1995 during the Belkan War. Wren F-16’s would fly combat air patrols along the frontline, earning multiple victories during the conflict against Belkan fighters. In 2000, the OADF announced that the 148th would pivot from Combat to Training, taking over the role of training Foreign Military Sales customers in the early F-16A’s Osea had begun to sell off.
