148th Earns Outstanding Unit Award Published Jan. 27, 2010 By Maj. Audra Flanagan 148th Fighter Wing DULUTH, MINN. -- The Chief of the Air National Guard, Lt. Gen. Harry "Bud" Wyatt has announced that the 148th Fighter Wing earned the 2009 Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA) for its accomplishments from November 1, 2008 to October 30, 2009. The AFOUA is awarded annually to Air Force units which perform exceptionally meritorious service. This is the seventh time (1979, 1988, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2008 & 2009) and the third consecutive year the 148th has earned this award. Highlights of the Wing's accomplishments during this period include: · 148th deployed personnel and jets to Joint Base Balad, Iraq from Sept 2008 to Jan 2009 · 148th continued its 24/7 Air Sovereignty Alert mission; the 148th was the first unit to intercept a stolen Canadian Cessna near Michigan's Upper Peninsula in Apr. 2009 · 148th earned an "Excellent" Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) rating Aug. 2009 · 15 personnel supported Flood Fight 09; Communications, Public Affairs and Logistics personnel traveled to Moorhead, MN and LaMoure, ND to set up a joint communications platforms enabling effective command and control during flood-induced power outages · 148th Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team responded to 17 calls from local law enforcement in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin