The 357th Fighter Squadron (357 FS) is part of the 355th Fighter Wing

355th Fighter Wing

The 355th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where in operates the A-10 Thunderbolt II...

 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

Davis-Monthan Air Force Base

Davis–Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, and approximately south-southeast of downtown, Tucson, Arizona....

, Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. It operates A-10 Thunderbolt II

A-10 Thunderbolt II

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...

 aircraft conducting close air support missions.
The 357th conducts all formal course directed aircraft transition, day and night weapons and tactics employment, day and night air refueling, and dissimilar air combat maneuvers

Aerial warfare

Aerial warfare is the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare, including military airlift of cargo to further the national interests as was demonstrated in the Berlin Airlift...

. The squadron trains pilots to plan, coordinate, execute, and control day and night close air support

Close air support

In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

, air interdiction and battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

.
Established in late 1942 as a P-47 Thunderbolt

P-47 Thunderbolt

Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...

 fighter squadron, trained under III Fighter Command

III Fighter Command

The III Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946.-Lineage:...

 in Florida and in the Middle Atlantic States, reassigned to I Fighter Command

I Fighter Command

The I Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the First Air Force, based at Mitchel Army Airfield, New York...

 for final training in the Philadelphia area.