Wing moves from Tallil to Balad Published Feb. 2, 2004 TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- The famed “Red Tails” were on the move recently when they relocated from a base in southern Iraq to just north of Baghdad.The 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing flag was furled here before being flown to its new home at Balad Air Base, where the wing was reactivated Jan. 30. The move is part of the Central Command Air Forces effort to consolidate forces from Tallil, Baghdad International Airport and Kirkuk AB into one location.The 332nd AEW traces its legacy to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame and has been operating here for the last six months. “From a small airfield in Tuskegee, Ala., in 1941 with men who knew challenges and deprivation most of us will never comprehend, they eventually rose to write a legacy of excellence and dedication,” said Col. Marke Gibson, 332nd AEW commander, on the history of the 332nd Tuskegee Airmen. Although the wing’s time here was short, the colonel said the accomplishments of its airmen easily measured up to the wing’s legacy. Saying the men and women of the wing had been at the tip of the expeditionary airpower spear, Colonel Gibson said for many “it will represent the highlight of our careers and it should.” There will still be an Air Force presence here.Colonel Gibson presented the 407th Air Expeditionary Group guidon to Col Kevin E. Williams, reactivating the 407th AEG under Colonel Williams’ leadership here.