attack team, escort, and combat search and rescue. With a dual role A/OA-10 Warthog squadron commitment and night vision goggles, the squadron had the ability to deploy forward air controllers with attack aircraft for a complete day and night employment capability. 355th FS deployed to Aviano Air Base, Italy from January 1996 to March 1997, supporting Operation Joint Guard. No ordnance was employed, but pilots flew sorties and sat alert with combat loaded aircraft. In October 1998, the 355 FS deployed to support Operation Southern Watch. Only two months later, the Warthogs saw their second tour of combat duty over Iraq while participating in the 16–19 December 1998, Operation Desert Fox strike missions. In 2.5 months, the 355 FS flew 597 combat and combat support sorties leading up to, then conducting, National Command Authority directed strikes on Iraqi military facilities and suspected weapons of mass destruction storage areas. They achieved 100 percent target hit rate. The 355FS was the first air combat unit to deploy to the Middle East after the Towers Fell on 11SEP2001. The unit deployed to Ahmad al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, in support of Operation Southern Watch, Operation Northern Watch, and even Operation Enduring Freedom from November 2001 – March 2002 with Air Expeditionary Force 10 (AEF). The aircraft flew from Eielson AFB, Alaska all the way to Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait making brief (crew rest only stops) at Westover, Massachussettes (not Barnes), then Lajes in the Aczores, then Trapani Sicily, then Kuwait, arriving 05DEC2001. The A-10s utilized Air to Air Refueling (AAR or Aerial Refueling) in between ground stops, thus proving once again that the USAF Tanker force is one of the reasons that the US military truly has global reach (YCKAWTG). In Kuwait, the 355th FS joined the 338th AEG (Air Expeditionary Group) The Panthers/Red Tag/Tail Bastards. The 355th FS also provided Battalion Air Liaison Officers (BALOs) to 6 dedicated Army Combat Units as a regular part of their combat mission. BALOs are considered Forward Air Controllers or FACs (specifically GFAC or Ground FAC) whether or not they also hold an Airborne FAC qualification. Typically these BALOs also hold JTAC-qualified certifications. These BALOs continuously support Army and other combat units (air, ground, sea, and space) during exercises while currently serving as combat-ready and combat-qualified A-10 pilots. They provided advice on the use of all aerial assets (fixed-wing, rotary, drone, etc.) as well as