The 43rd Fighter Generation Squadron's weapons section went out with a "Bang" wrapping up their extended Eglin stay with a combined quarterly weapons load competition here April 7.
The competition was their last one to be held here before the Airmen begin moving to other units and aircraft as the 325th Fighter Wing's F-22 Raptors slowly leave the base. A few Airmen will transfer to the 96th Test Wing to load its F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15 variants. The units arrived here in late November 2018 after Hurricane Michael ripped through Tyndall AFB leaving the units homeless.
To celebrate their time here and send them off right, the 33rd Fighter Wing held their weapons load competition at the same time and location. During the event, four fifth generation fighter weapons teams loaded bombs and missiles simultaneously. The two units shared a flightline and building space for most of the time the F-22A Raptor unit was here.
During their time here the unit underwent a name change from the 325th Maintenance Squadron to the 43rd FGS in 2021. After April, only one weapons load crew will remain to support the Raptors still on station.