190th Fighter Squadron Patch - A10 Skullbangers

The 190th Fighter Squadron at Gowen Field, Idaho flies A-10 Thunderbolt IIs for the Idaho Air National Guard — and the Skullbangers have taken that mission into combat.

The 190th FS is the fighter component of the 124th Fighter Wing, Idaho ANG, based at Boise Airport's Gowen Field. The unit has operated A-10s since the 1980s and deployed for Operation Southern Watch over Iraq, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and rotations through Southwest Asia supporting ground forces in Afghanistan. Guard A-10 units like the 190th often logged more combat flight hours than their active duty counterparts — the A-10 mission kept them busy. The Skullbangers callsign reflects the low-altitude, hard-turning nature of close air support: flying where AAA lives, making gun runs at treetop level, and bringing the troops home.

If you flew A-10s with the 190th, worked the flight line at Gowen Field, or pulled any mission alongside Idaho ANG jets in a combat zone, this patch is a direct marker of that time. The Skullbangers name isn't subtle — and neither was the work.

The 190th Fighter Squadron Skullbangers patch holds the Idaho ANG's A-10 history in a shield you can hold in your hand. No explanation needed for anyone who was there.

This embroidered patch measures 3.75 inches wide by 4 inches tall in a shield shape with a black border. The design runs a tan desert-toned center field with "A-10" in bold gold letters at the top and "SKULLBANGERS" in white below it. The centerpiece is a head-on A-10 Warthog with two red lightning bolt trails cutting diagonally across the aircraft — a direct nod to the gun and the jet's attack angle. A white mountain silhouette lines the bottom with "IDAHO" in block letters, placing the unit firmly in its home state.