Niceville and Valp residents will have an encore for Independence Day, courtesy of Eglin Air Force Base and the United States Air Force’s F-35s.
According to a news release from the Air Force Base’s Public Affairs Unit, Niceville and Valparaiso residents may hear jet noise between 4:30 and 10 pm in the evenings between July 5th and 7th.
The 60th Fighter Squadron will practice night flying operations in the area.
According to the release, “Night flying is required for the 60th Fighter Squadron’s training operations.”
The squadron was then designated as the “Fighting Crows” and was initially tasked with Air Defense of American soil during World War II. In late 1942, the unit received orders to head to Southeast Asia to participate in combat against the Japanese military. The unit also saw action against the Italian military in Tunisia. In 1944, the unit was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for combat operations.
Since the end of the Second World War, the 60th Fighter Squadron saw deployments to Grenada and Panama. Both of those actions took place in the 1980s. Additionally, the “Fighting Crows” served in Desert Storm, Haiti and enforced the no-fly zone over Iraq.
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