Page 3 - Desert Lightning News, Nellis-Creech AFB Edition, Jan. 4 2019

Desert lightning news s. nevaDa 2018 Year in review January 4, 2019 3
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February 2018
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Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum
A pararescueman is hoisted into an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron, during training on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Feb. 22, 2018. The mission of the 66th
Feb. 23-March 2
More than 150 wounded warriors from the Air Force, Army, Great Britain and Australia gath- ered in February to officially open the fifth annual Air Force Tri- als at Nellis Air Force Base.
The Paralympic- style event features wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, ar- chery, shooting, track, field, cycling and swim- ming competitions, where participants vie for a spot on the Air Force’s Warrior Games team which took place June 2-9, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Air Force Trials are part of an adaptive and resiliency sports program designed to promote the mental and physical well-being of the wounded, ill and injured service mem- bers who participate.
Air Force photograph by Airman 1st Class Andrew D. Sarver
Members of the 66th Rescue Squadron and 823rd Maintenance Squadrons greet their peers as they return from deployment Feb. 8, 2018, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. The Airmen spent four months overseas to support Operation Inherent Resolve with personnel recovery missions.
Feb. 8
Members of the 66th Rescue Squad- ron and 823d Maintenance Squadron returned home from a four-month de- ployment overseas Feb. 8. The Airmen deployed with Guardian Angel teams from the 306th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., to Southwest Asia in support of Opera- tion Inherent Resolve to conduct combat search and rescue missions.
The group included HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter pilots, special missions aviators, maintainers, pararescuemen, combat rescue officers, and a small sup- port team.
Feb. 22
Members of the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., celebrated its 75th anniversary and the many achievements the wing accomplished throughout its history, Feb. 22, 2018 at Creech. The unit was activated as the 432nd Observation Group Feb. 22, 1943 at Alachua Army Air Field, Fla., as the nation prepared for World War II.
The group performed various mis- sions over the years, such as training cadres for new groups and squadrons, tactical aerial reconnaissance in sup- port of combat operations, and now expanding remotely piloted precision attack, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
The unit was returned to active status May 1, 2007 as the 432nd WG at Creech, forming the U.S. Air Force’s first Re- motely Piloted Aircraft wing.
Air Force photograph by Lorenz Crespo
Rescue Squadron is to provide rapidly deployable, expeditionary, and agile combat search and rescue.
A B1-B bomber assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, takes off from Nellis AFB, Nev., for a Red Flag 18-1 training mission Feb. 15, 2018. The 414th Combat Training Squadron is responsible for executing Red Flag and this exercise is just one of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis and on the Nevada Test and Training Range.
March 2018
The U.S. Air Force Advanced Main- tenance and Munitions Operations School celebrated its 15th anniversary with the graduation of Class 18-A. This was also the first class to combine of- ficers and senior noncommissioned officers into one course.
March 2
March 3
Rescue Airmen from the 23rd Wing recently participated in a joint rescue operation alongside other Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps assets, ap- proximately 675 nautical miles off the coast of California. The 66th Rescue Squadron, a 23rd Wing geographically separated unit at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., transported a 54-year-old man suffering from a life-threatening ill- ness aboard the MSC Flavia container ship to San Jose Regional Medical Center in San Jose, Calif.
March 9-23
Red Flag 18-2 got underway at Nel- lis Air Force Base, Nev.
March 9
The Air Force held the MQ-1 Preda- tor’s official retirement ceremony with Airmen from the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Remotely Piloted Aircraft enterprise leaders, and MQ-1 alumni March 9, 2018, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The MQ-1 ceremony included the final local flight by the Airmen of the 489th Attack Squadron and the last combat line flown by the 15th Expeditionary Attack Squadron in an undisclosed area of responsibility.
The 24th Tactical Air Support Squadron activated March 2 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.
The 24th TASS is an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet squadron whose primary function is training, sup- porting and performing close air support.
An MQ-1 Predator taxis on the runway March 9, 2018, at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The MQ-1 took flight for the last time at Creech, marking its retirement and the transition to an all MQ-9 Reaper force.
Air Force photograph by Senior Airman James Thompson
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