Air Weapons Controller personnel often deploy without home-system to support flying units in various scenarios and exercises throughout the U.S. and European theater.

[citation needed] Additionally, the 390th Electronic Combat Squadron, located at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, is assigned to the 366th Operations Group.

It replaced the Federalized Iowa Air National Guard 132d Fighter Bomber Wing which was being returned to state control after a twenty-one-month period of activation as a result of the Korean War.

[citation needed] Unlike their Air National Guard predecessors, HQ USAFE did not provide the 366th with a definitive mission statement.

[citation needed] A result of French president Charles de Gaulle's deep suspicion of "supranational organizations" and France's shift away from the NATO orbit in the early 1960s ultimately led to the decision in November 1962 that Chambley, Chaumont, Etain and Phalsbourg air bases would be returned to reserve status.

The wing was composed of a mixture of F-100 Super Sabre and F-4C Phantom II squadrons, deployed from several Tactical Air Command wings: Missions then flown by the 366th TFW consisted generally of two types—MiG-CAP patrols to protect strike aircraft from attack by marauding North Vietnamese fighters and fighter-bomber strikes carried out with iron bombs against ground targets.

The MiG patrols and attacks in North Vietnam were taken over by the F-4s and F-105s based in Thailand, which could carry a larger bomb load further and faster.

Consequently, the F-100D fighter bombers generally operated only in South Vietnam where the F-100 turned out to be a very effective ground support aircraft, and beat back many enemy attacks.

Unfortunately, this technique also exposed the aircraft to small-arms fire from the ground[citation needed] While at Da Nang, aircrews complained that they were missing many opportunities to shoot down enemy MiGs because the F-4C lacked an internal cannon and its missiles were ineffective at short ranges.

When "Stormy" night ops resumed, it was with use of the Starlight Scope to spot targets, and with support from "Blindbat" and "Candlestick" flareships.

Upon the wing's return to the United States in October 1972, Captain Lance P. Sijan, a 366th pilot shot down in 1967, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions as a prisoner of war.

[citation needed] The 366th TFW was inactivated on 31 October 1972, and activated the same day without personnel or equipment at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

[citation needed] Relieved from combat assignment in Southeast Asia, the 366th was reassigned without personnel or equipment to the United States in October 1972 to replace the 347th Tactical Fighter Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.

At Mountain Home, the wing was assigned the 389th, 390th, and 391st Tactical Fighter Squadrons which had returned from Vietnam, joined the 347th, and began converting to General Dynamics F-111F aircraft.

[citation needed] In March 1980, the Air Force announced plans to base EF-111A Raven electronic combat aircraft at Mountain Home.

In support of these changes, on 1 July 1981, Air Force activated the 388th Electronic Combat Squadron to receive the newly modified Ravens.

Operations throughout the early 1980s remained stable with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing training F-111A and EF-111A aircrews while maintaining combat readiness in both aircraft.

This resulted from General Merrill A. McPeak, then Chief of Staff of the Air Force (CSAF) and his belief that creating standing composite wings, wherein one commander would control all types of aircraft to defeat an enemy, would streamline and shorten tactical planning.

General McPeak expressed that a composite wing would make "smaller mistakes because it works and trains together in peacetime...it knows the playbook...in other words, it can exploit the inherent flexibility of airpower.

Located at Castle AFB, California, the 34th flew the B-52G Stratofortress, giving the composite wing deep interdiction bombing capabilities as the only B-52 unit armed with the deadly, long-range HAVE NAP missile.

With its internal 20-millimeter cannon and air-to-air missiles, the F-15C provided protection to the wing's high-value assets from enemy air threats.

At the same time, Air Force activated the 429th Electronic Combat Squadron, which assumed control of the wing's EF-111A aircraft as they prepared to transfer to Cannon AFB, New Mexico.

In June 1993, however, the wing transferred its remaining EF-111As and the 429th ECS to Cannon AFB, ending Mountain Home's long association with the various models of the F-111 aircraft.

The wing would soon begin working out the most efficient procedures for moving an airpower expeditionary force to pre-selected locations around the world.

In early 1999, the wing's three fighter squadrons flew combat missions over southern Iraq, with the 391st dropping more bombs than any other unit since the end of Desert Storm.

[citation needed] In September 1999, the Gunfighters participated in JEFX 99, the latest in a series of exercises focused on testing emerging command and control technologies for deployed air expeditionary forces.

[citation needed] Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 and the resultant United States invasion of Afghanistan, the 366th Wing once again got the call.

In January 2007, the 391st FS deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan as the first F-15E Strike Eagle unit to patrol the skies over that country during Operation Enduring Freedom.

[citation needed] During the air campaign against Afghanistan that began on 7 October 2001, the 366th Wing's deployed crews flew nearly 1,000 sorties and dropped a total of 7.6 million pounds of bombs against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets—the most out of any unit participating in the operation.

The move was part of the Air Force's efforts to consolidate its fighter fleets as a smarter way of doing business and to save money.