The ‘Forgotten 1,000’ Raise $1,000 for AFA’s Wounded Airmen & Guardians Program
January 30, 2024
On January 20, during the 33-year anniversary of Desert Storm, a small group of Air Force veterans known as “The Forgotten 1,000” reunited in Destin, Fla., to re-kindle their warrior bond. As part of the reunion’s intent to take care of others, the group contributed $1,000 to AFA’s Wounded Airmen & Guardians Program as their heartfelt way of paying it forward to our current generation of Air and Space Warriors.
The Forgotten 1,000 were stationed in Doha, Qatar, from August 1990 to March 1991, flying and supporting F-16C combat missions from the 614th TFS Lucky Devils. Commanded by then-Lt. Col. Bruce “Orville” Wright (now a retired three-star general and AFA’s President & CEO), the squadron flew more than 1,300 combat sorties and dropped over 3.7 million pounds of ordnance to devastating effect against the enemy. Though three jets were lost in combat resulting in two prisoners of war, all survived the war with no casualties.
The reunion’s guest speaker was Gen. Chuck Horner, USAF (Ret.), who was commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces in charge of the most successful air war in the U.S. Air Force’s history.