Maj. Alex “Trippin” Boules and the 66th Weapons Squadron
Maj. Boules’ description captures what the 66th Weapons Squadron built over nearly half a century: a focused center of excellence that taught not only aircraft skills but how to knit airpower into larger operations. The 66th ran the A-10 Weapons Instructor Course, a six-month curriculum that began in 1977 under the USAF Weapons School and that has produced graduates who led or supported combat operations around the world.
The final Weapons Instructor Course, December 2025
The last Weapons Instructor Course (WIC) for the A-10 concluded in December 2025, with the final pair of students graduating from the six-month program. That graduation marked the end of a continuous run dating to 1977 and the close of a long institutional relationship between the A-10 and the USAF Weapons School. The course’s alumni include personnel who participated in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and who took part more recently in Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
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Get a security leadNellis capstone flights and the Test and Training Range lakebed landing
Reporter Jamie Hunter of TWZ attended the final graduation events and flew with the 66th Weapons Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base as instructors supported a capstone exercise for the last time. The reporting captures both the sensory moments — “the ‘brrrt’ of the GAU-8 Gatling gun,” “the whistle of the TF34 engines” — and operational detail: A-10s supporting combat search and rescue and close air support missions in integration with forward air controllers. Hunter documented an A-10 landing on a lakebed in the Nellis Test and Training Range during the exercise; the coverage appears as the opening episode in TWZ’s YouTube series “Special Access.” Hunter can be reached at jamie.hunter@teamrecurrent.io.
Reprieve for three squadrons and the 309th AMARG boneyard
Despite repeated calls for the A-10’s retention, the Warthog is described as nearing retirement. Three squadrons have been granted a reprieve to continue operations until 2030, but the reporting notes that “the writing is on the wall” for the aircraft as increasing numbers of A-10s arrive at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) boneyard in Arizona for storage. Those movements toward storage and attrition frame the final WIC as a wind-down of institutional expertise tied to the platform.
What this means for the 66th Weapons Squadron, the USAF Weapons School, and maintenance/regeneration units
- 66th Weapons Squadron: The squadron is completing its mission as the A-10 Weapons Instructor Course winds down, culminating in the December 2025 graduation and the final capstone support flights at Nellis.
- USAF Weapons School: After nearly 50 years running the A-10 WIC since 1977, the Weapons School is closing the program tied to the Warthog as A-10 fleets draw down and three squadrons prepare to operate only through 2030.
- 309th AMARG and maintenance/regeneration units: The steady arrival of A-10s at the boneyard in Arizona signals a shift from active operations to storage and regeneration responsibilities for aircraft preservation and disposition.
The A-10’s role in recent operations lends gravity to that transition. TWZ’s report cites the aircraft’s contributions in Afghanistan and Iraq and highlights a recent tasking during Operation Epic Fury in Iran, where A-10s were described as “taking on a critical role watching over combat search and rescue operations in partnership with special operations teams to recover down U.S. aircrews.”
The closing of the Weapons Instructor Course is more than ceremonial. It represents the near-term end of a formal schoolhouse dedicated to teaching the particular mix of weapons employment and joint integration that Maj. Boules emphasized. The WIC produced pilots who were trained to be “experts in integration” as much as experts in their aircraft — an institutional capability tied to a single airframe and a decades-old training pipeline.
As A-10s continue to move to the 309th AMARG and three squadrons maintain operations only through 2030, the tangible question left by these facts is how the integration expertise of the Weapons Instructor Course will be carried forward once the Warthog’s formal schoolhouse closes. The last capstone flights at Nellis provided one final, vivid demonstration: the sound of the GAU-8, the whistle of TF34s, and pilots and controllers practicing the exacting business of close air support one last time under the Weapons School banner.
