Friendly skies

Montana Air National Guard members wrap up a 28-month mission in Hawaii

By William Cole

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 06, 2012

~~<p>For the past two years and four months, a detachment of the Montana Air National Guard has been watching over Hawaii’s skies as part of an air defense “alert” mission, with two pilots ready to fly 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the event of an emergency.</p>
<p>The stand-in duty — needed as the Hawaii Air National Guard made a switch from the F-15 Eagle to the F-22 Raptor — initially was expected to last 15 or 16 months, but oxygen-delivery problems plagued the costly Raptors and delayed their arrival.</p>
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For the past two years and four months, a detachment of the Montana Air National Guard has been watching over Hawaii’s skies as part of an air defense “alert” mission, with two pilots ready to fly 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the event of an emergency.

The stand-in duty — needed as the Hawaii Air National Guard made a switch from the F-15 Eagle to the F-22 Raptor — initially was expected to last 15 or 16 months, but oxygen-delivery problems plagued the costly Raptors and delayed their arrival. Login for more...