Page 5 - Nellis AFB Bullseye 7-24-15

BULLSEYE
www.aerotechnews.com/nellisafb
Red Flag offers B-52 crews training that ‘can’t be beat’
By Airman 1st class Rachel Loftis
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. —
As the sun blazes through the cloudless
sky, a suffocating heat touches down
on the Nellis AFB flightline. A B-52
Stratosphere assigned to the 69th Bomb
Squadron sits, awaiting pre-flight checks ago, and we rolled through daily sor- of missions such as strategic attack,
for its upcoming Red Flag mission.
Red Flag provides realistic air com-
bat missions in a training environ-
ment which ensures participating air
and ground crews are better prepared
for future real-world operations.
The 69th BS is one of many units
taking advantage of the training Red
Flag 15-3 offers.
“We got back from Guam last year
and Red Flag was the next big thing
on the docket, so we started focusing
on that as early as possible,” said Capt.
Britt, 69th BS aircraft commander.
“We wanted to focus on and show the
(Combat Air Forces) what we could
do so that when we got here our entire
unit was on the same sheet of music,
could perform as well as we could, and
didn’t’ look like the slow ponies when
we showed up.”
The 69th BS brought four B-52 air-
craft and approximately 180 Airmen
to participate in Red Flag 15-3.
“We started talking about Red Flag
about six months ago,” said Britt.
A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 69th Bomb Squadon, Minot Air Force Base, N.D., sits through preflight checks during Red Flag 15-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. July 15. The
B-52 has a wide array of weapons at its disposal to dispose of an enemy and is capable of delivering approximately 70,000 pounds of munitions.
News 5July 24, 2015
Facebook.com/NellisBullseye
U.S. Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Rachel Loftis “You plan for it, everybody else is get-
ting ready for it in all separate places
A B-52 Stratofortress assigned to the 69th Bomb Squadon, Minot Air Force Base, N.D., throughout the country and then all
taxis for take off during Red Flag 15-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., July 15. The B-52 of a sudden, we all come together and
is a long-range heavy bomber capable of dropping or launching a wide variety of integrate.
munitions on any target anywhere in the world.
“We have this ‘Seminole’ moment
“However, I would say our real train- The B-52 is a long-range, heavy where we are all learning together as
ing program started three months bomber that can perform a variety a group,” Joseph continued. “You’re
rubbing shoulders and literally in the
ties and just the way we do our busi- close-air support, air interdiction, same building with all these same peo-
ness as far as mission planning. We offensive counter-air and maritime ple that you’ve heard about through-
started simulating what we expected operations. out the year and you’ve trained to be
to have here at Red Flag and carried able to integrate with, and now all of
that through so there weren’t any big “I don’t think it’s an unfair analogy a sudden you’re there and doing the
surprises when we got here.” to say that Red Flag is like the Super mission.”
Bowl if you will,” said 1st Lt. Joseph
In addition to bringing the B-52
to Red Flag, the 69th BS has had the
chance to gain valuable knowledge
and training experience through the
combat exercises presented at Red Flag.
“I would say at the unit level there
is no better training than this in the
world,” said Britt. “It’s definitely one
of those things where there are people
that have been to Red Flag and there’s
people that haven’t and you’re level of
training, your level of expertise and
skill increases significantly while
you’re here. Having all these assets
and all the opportunities here at the
same time, you simply can’t beat it. It’s
the biggest bang for your buck.”
Editor’s note: Last names have been
withheld due to operational security
constraints.
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Thomas Spangler