706th Fighter Squadron Patch – With hook and loop

A 4″ squadron patch of the 706th Fighter Squadron with hook and loop

The 706th Fighter Squadron is part of the 926th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada where it oversees Air Force Reserve Command fighter pilots supporting the United States Air Force Warfare Center as an associate of the 57th Wing. Pilots assigned to the 706th fly General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, and Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.

The squadron was first activated as the 706th Bombardment Squadron in 1943. After training in the United States with Consolidated B-24 Liberators, it deployed to the European Theater of Operations, where it engaged in the strategic bombing campaign against Germany. After V-E Day, the squadron returned to the United States and was inactivated.

The squadron was activated in the reserve in 1948, but was inactivated in budget reductions in 1949. The squadron again became a reserve unit in 1955 as the 706th Troop Carrier Squadron, but was inactivated two years later. It was activated again in 1959 and has served as an airlift unit until 1978, which included training Republic of Vietnam Air Force crews in South Vietnam. Since 1978 the squadron has been a fighter unit, deploying to Bosnia and Southwest Asia on numerous occasions through 2007 when it assumed its current role.

Current Operations
The 706th Fighter Squadron is assigned to the 926th Operations Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Air Force Reserve Command personnel supporting fighter operations of the United States Air Force Warfare Center are assigned to the squadron. They are fully integrated with the 57th Wing at Nellis and the 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida[3] and perform operational test and evaluation and tactics development for the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, and Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.