It was quite by accident that the discovery was made that another 39th Cobra Squadron was active at Eglin AFB, Florida. By April 1998 reunion arrangements had almost been completed for the annual 39th Fighter Squadron Association reunion to be held at Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Monroe "Griff" Griffin spotted an article in the March issue of Airman Magazine, "The Extreme Studio" by Capt. Timothy Bailey, and spread to news. This "find" led to a combined celebration of the 60th year of the 39th Squadron's service to our nation, held in the 39th Flight Test Squadron hanger at Eglin AFB on October 16th, 1998. Squadron Commander L/C Robert M. Newton and the entire squadron were surprised and pleased to learn about the extensive heritage of their squadron. These "happenings" led to the commissioning of a picture whose focus is aimed at the heritage of the 39th from the days of the Seversky P-35 to the present day F-16 "Viper" and A-10 "Warthog" test beds.

In tracing the history of the 39th Squadron it is known that the 39th Flying Training Squadron was activated at George AFB, California in 1990 and trained a complete F-4G "Wild Weasel" squadron that took part in subduing Iraq during Desert Storm, January 1991. That squadron became the 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing and in August 1990 deployed to Shaikh Isa Base, Bahrain. The 561st Squadron was part of the 500 plane air armada the hit Baghdad at H Hour, January 17, 1991 and the rest is history, as the saying goes. The 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron and the 39th Flying Training Squadron were deactivated in 1992.