One

One lonely plane remains...

The last F-16 jet assigned to Springfield’s 183rd Tactical Fighter Wing is expected to leave the city some time Tuesday or Wednesday.

...
The 183rd’s F-16 Falcons started leaving Springfield early in the summer. The unit had around 15 jets, and since then, they have been leaving a few at a time. F-16s from Springfield have gone to other units across the country including squadrons in Texas, Vermont and Indiana.

Sheedy said that as of Sunday, there was only one 183rd aircraft remaining in Springfield.

Just a few weeks ago, when the B-17 was here, I drove past the 183rd's plane parking lot (that's technical aviation jargon) and there were at least half a dozen still left.

Now just one.

It would have been nice if all of them had left at once in one spectacular fly-away. They could have opened up the airport Air Rendezvous style and invited the whole community to come out and watch the F-16s fly off into the sunset. Someday I'll understand that the military doesn't exist for my amusement.