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'Decisive Endeavour'
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Villafranca AB, Italy (start operation to December of 1996)
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From the start of the Belgian Air Force F-16 operations in former Yugoslavia till December of 1996 it was part of 'Decisive Endeavour'. This was an operation in support of the UN-led IFOR troops stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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'Deliberate Guard'
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Villafrance AB, Italy (December of 1996 to June 20th, 1998)
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When the UN forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina changed their mandate resulting in a name change from IFOR to SFOR, also the air operations were given another name. Ultimately, 'Deliberate Guard' formed the air asset for the SFOR troops.
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'Determined Falcon'
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Villafranca AB, Italy (June 15th, 1998 to June 16th, 1998)
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Operation 'Determined Falcon' was a one-day operation to show force over Kosovo and Albania. NATO fighters patrolled this airspace coming only within 10nm of Serbian territory. This operation was meant as a warning to Serbian politicians to stop the bloodshed in this Yugoslavian province.
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'Deliberate Forge'
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Amendola AB, Italy (June 20th, 1998 to end operation)
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Operation 'Deliberate Forge' was the successor of operation 'Deliberate Guard'. When the SFOR troops were reorganised into a smaller force, the covering air campaign also received a new name. This operation continued until the end of Belgian Air Force operations in Yugoslavia, which ended in the summer of 2001.
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'Allied Force'
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Amendola AB, Italy (March 23rd, 1999 to June 10th, 1999)
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Operation 'Allied Force' was the codename for the almost three month long air strikes against Serbia. 349 sqn was the first Belgian sqn to drop a GBU-12 bomb during this campaign, resulting in the first offensive operation of the Belgian Air Force since the end of WWII.
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'Air Policing Baltic States'
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Siauliai AB, Lithuania (March 30th, 2004 to June 30th, 2004)
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This operation started when Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia joined NATO. These countries don't have fighters themselves and rely upon NATO for their air coverage. In a three-month rotation Belgian F-16s will patrol the skies over the Baltic States.
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'ISAF - Eastern Eagle'
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Kabul AB, Afghanistan (July 14th, 2005 to January 14th, 2006)
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As a reinforcement for the ISAF air asset, the Belgian government decided to station 4 F-16s at Kabul AB together with the same number of Dutch aircraft to secure the parliamentary elections of September 2005. The initial four-month deployment was eventually extended to 6 months.
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'Air Policing Baltic States'
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Siauliai AB, Lithuania (December 1st, 2006 to March 31st, 2007)
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This is the second deployment of the Belgian Air Force to the three Baltic states (Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia). This time a four-month rotation will see the Belgian F-16s patrol the skies over the Baltic States.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (January 1st, 2009 to August 31st, 2009)
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In the summer of 2008 the Belgian government decided to step up and Join the NATO effort in Afghanistan with F-16 fighters. A total of 4 fighters were dispatched who strenghtened the Dutch contingent. The Belgian operation was called Guardian Falcon. The first rotation was done by the 2nd Wing.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (May 1st, 2010 to December 31st, 2010)
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This marked the second deployment of the squadron in the Guardian Falcon rotational deployments. By this time the detachment had risen to 6 aircraft being deployed.
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'Odyssey Dawn / Unified Protector'
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Araxos AB, Greece (March 23rd, 2011 to October 31st, 2011)
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Originally the squadron was at Araxos for a training session with the Hellenic Air Force. This training deployment soon evolved in a real air operation with the squadron being one of the first over Libya during this operation.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (September 1st, 2011 to December 31st, 2011)
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OGF X was a shorter deployment of the squadron. This was due to the ongoing operation in Libya.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (May 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2012)
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Not long after the Libyan operation the squadron was tasked with another deployment into Afghanistan.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (September 1st, 2013 to April 30th, 2014)
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Another rotation into Afghanistan. These missions are always conducted together with the sister squadron, the 31st.
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'Air Policing Baltic States'
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Siauliai AB, Lithuania (September 3rd, 2013 to January 2nd, 2014)
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Together with the deployment in Afghanistan the squadron was tasked with yet another mission to protect the Baltic States.
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'ISAF - Guardian Falcon'
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Kandahar AB, Afghanistan (September 1st, 2014 to September 27th, 2014)
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This marked the final rotation of the squadron into Afghanistan. It was originally planned to end this mission at the end of October, but in the end the F-16s were withdrawn in late September as tensions in the Middle East rose and another deployment was more imminent than this one. This mission marked the end of 6 years of Belgian F-16 presence in Afghanistan.
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