No. 81 Wing became part of RAAF Air Command's new Air Combat Group when TFG merged with Strike Reconnaissance Group in February 2002. The following year, 14 Hornets from No. 75 Squadron deployed to the Middle East to support the invasion of Iraq, escorting high-value Coalition aircraft and later providing close air support to ground troops and air interdiction against Iraqi forces, the first time the RAAF had delivered bombs in anger since the Vietnam War.The War in Iraq: ADF Operations in the Middle East in 2003, pp. 26–28 at Department of Defence. Retrieved on 2 December 2010. The Hornets were led by Wing Commander Mel Hupfeld, who became Officer Commanding No. 81 Wing in 2006–07, Commander Air Combat Group in 2009–12, and subsequently Air Commander Australia.McPhedran, Air Force, pp. 115, 152Air Commander Australia at Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved on 1 April 2013. The Hornets have also continued to play an air defence role in securing high-profile events in Australia, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the 2007 APEC meeting in Sydney, and the 2011 visit by US President Barack Obama. In March 2015, six F/A-18As from No. 75 Squadron deployed to the Middle East under Operation Okra, as part of the military intervention against ISIL. The aircraft replaced a detachment of six F/A-18F Super Hornets from No. 1 Squadron; the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, announced that each of the "classic" Hornet squadrons would rotate through the region for combat operations every six months before the Super Hornets returned, for the duration of the deployment. No. 77 Squadron took over from No. 75 Squadron in September 2015, and handed over to the next rotation from No. 3 Squadron in April 2016.
