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~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Langley Air Force Base, Virginia 
Langley Air Force Base (IATA: LFI, ICAO: KLFI) is the home of the United States Air Force's 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) and the 480th Intelligence Wing (480 IW). It also hosts Headquarters, Air Combat Command (ACC). 
As the host unit at Langley Air Force Base, Va., the 1st Fighter Wing operates and maintains one of the largest fighter bases in Air Combat Command. Throughout its history, the 1st FW has led the way, wherever and whenever called upon. The 192nd Fighter Wing is an Air National Guard component of the Virginia National Guard, located at Langley, which augments the active-duty Air Force components in the performance of their missions and other joint force operations. 
The base is named for aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley, an American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and pioneer of aviation. 
Langley graduated from Boston Latin School, was an assistant in the Harvard College Observatory, then became chair of mathematics at the United States Naval Academy. In 1867, he became the director of the Allegheny Observatory and a professor of astronomy at the Western University of Pennsylvania, now known as the University of Pittsburgh, a post he kept until 1891 even while he became the third Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1887. Langley was the founder of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
In 1886, Langley received the Henry Draper Medal from the National Academy of Sciences for his contributions to solar physics. His publication in 1890 of infrared observations at the Allegheny Observatory in Pittsburgh together with Frank Washington Very was used by Svante Arrhenius to make the first calculations on the greenhouse effect. Langley attempted to make the first working piloted heavier-than-air aircraft. His models flew, but his two attempts at piloted flight were not successful. His first success came on May 6, 1896 when his Number 5 unpiloted model flew half a mile after a catapult launch from a boat on the Potomac River. Aviation historians consider this to be the world's first sustained flight by a powered heavier-than-air craft. On November 11 that year his Number 6 model flew more than 5-thousand feet. These flights demonstrated that stability and sufficient lift could be achieved in such craft. Langley obtained a War Department grant of $50,000 and $20,000 from the Smithsonian Institution to develop a piloted airplane, which he called an "Aerodrome" (coined from Greek words roughly translated as "air runner"). Read More About Samuel Langley Here!
The 1st Fighter Wing's mission is "to deliver airpower; train, equip and deploy Airmen; deploy, fight and win - anywhere, any time and to deliver 'first-class, first-time' support to Team Langley." 
On 7 August 1990, the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Shield. Throughout both Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the wing flew more than 6,200 sorties and nearly 25,000 flying hours. The wing also recorded an aerial victory when Capt Steve Tate of the 71 FS shot down an Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1.
From the end of Operation Desert Storm until the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, squadrons of the 1 FW routinely deployed to Turkey in support of Operation Northern Watch, or to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the northern and southern "No Fly" zones over Iraq. In 2003, the 1 FW deployed again to Southwest Asia in order to provide air superiority during actual combat operations. Deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the wing flew over 360 training and combat sorties.
Other historical firsts for the 1st Fighter Wing are:
*The first U.S. group-level unit to enter air combat.
*The first U.S. unit to destroy enemy aircraft in World War I.
*The parent unit of the first recipient of the Medal of Honor for aerial combat.
*The parent unit of the two highest scoring U.S. aces in World War I.
*The first fighter unit to deploy en masse over the North Atlantic.
*The first U.S. unit to destroy a German aircraft in World War II.
*The first U.S. jet fighter unit. 
The F-22 Raptor is the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft. Its combination of stealth, supercruise, maneuverability, and integrated avionics, coupled with improved supportability, represents an exponential leap in warfighting capabilities. The Raptor performs both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions allowing full realization of operational concepts vital to the 21st century Air Force. Read More About Langley Air Force Base, and the F-22 Raptor Here!
FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.
Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun!
We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity. We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon. We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way. God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always |