Page 3 - Nellis Creech NTTR Bullseye July 29 2016_Neat

BULLSEYE News 3July 29, 2016

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COMMANDER, from page 1_______________ and relinquished command to Murray through the realized that I was a consumer of what the 99th
“To the men and women of Nellis, Creech, and passing of the guidon. does every day. Now it gives me great pride that I
get to be a part of all the things I took for granted.”
the NTTR, thank you so much for what you do every Murray then took the time to address his new
day,” said Boutwell. “You all carry out incredible wing. Murray continued on to say that he also felt a
missions. It has been an honor to serve alongside great deal of humility during the past week’s events
you and I wish you all the best of luck. To quote “As I took the guidon, I was filled with two emo- during the changeover of command.
Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant: ‘If anything goes bad, I did it. tions, and one of them was pride,” said Murray. “The
If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything 99th in its present form began October of 1995, and “At the same time I feel a sense of humility,
goes really good, then you did it.’” as it turns out I’ve been coming here to Las Vegas Colonel Boutwell you have left a legacy of excellence
ever since I was a young lieutenant. I did the math that will be hard to keep up with,” said Murray. “I
After thanking the Airmen of the 99th ABW, a while back and I’ve spent nine months here two am humbled to be a part of the team that fuels the
Boutwell received his final salute from the wing weeks at a time. Whether it was Red Flag, Green mission success of six wings and over 50 partners,
Flag, or a conference, but as I reflected on that I and a team that is truly ‘top of the line.’”

F 35B, from page 1 ____________ out here. e Air Force works a lot like U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kevin Tannenbaum
one ght. We can get this done.” the Marine Corps, so participating in
Red Flag has been pretty smooth.” An F-35B, assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.,
Since the F-35 program is operational prepares to take o during Red Flag 16-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., July 12. Air-to-air
and rapidly accelerating the opportunity With this participation in Red Flag combat training exercise is conducted over the 2.9 million acre Nevada Test and Training
to work in a joint environment is a valu- it is an opportunity for the Marines to Range during Red Flag.
able aspect of this Red Flag for the Ma- showcase the di erences of the F-35B
rines, as well as their only opportunity from legacy Air Force tactical ghter participate in a multiservice exercise cess for our Marines,” said Walsh. “We
before being based at Marine Corps Air fleets with its air-to-air and air-to- has proven to be a valuable one for the look forward to the upcoming weeks
Station in Iwakuni, Japan. ground capabilities. Marine ghter unit. and showcasing the capabilities of our
airframe.”
“For us this is our one opportunity to “ e di erence between the Marine “ is Red Flag has been a huge suc-
integrate in multi-service before being F-35 and the Air Force F-35 is that the Air
based in January of 2017,” said U.S. Ma- Force version does conventional takeo s
rine Corps Maj. Brendan Walsh, VMFA- and landings whereas the Marine Corp
121 operations o cer. “Red Flag also F-35 has the ability to do a short take o
provides us the opportunity to integrate and a vertical landing,” said Gilbert.
and train in a multi-service, contested
environment.” is capability of being able to land
vertically grants the Marine fighters
The training provided during Red unique abilities that the other models of
Flag has been a smooth endeavor with the F-35 don’t have.
the Marine pilots and maintainers eager
to take full advantage of the opportunity. “ e vertical landing and takeo not
only give the opportunity to base ourselves
“I think it’s a very fortunate oppor- on amphibious ships, but also expediting
tunity for the Marine Corps to be a big sites that we can construct and conven-
player in this Red Flag with the F-35s,” tional aircra cannot use,” said Walsh.
said Gilbert. “It gives our pilots the op-
portunity to show the F-35 is the best jet With the F-35 becoming a linchpin for
future coalition operations, the chance
to bring the air frame to Red Flag and

U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kevin Tannenbaum U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kevin Tannenbaum

A Marine F-35B pilot, assigned to the 3rd Marine Marine F-35B aircrew members, assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., perform pre-
Aircraft Wing, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., ight checks and participate in Red Flag 16-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., July 12. Since its establishment in 1975, Red Flag
prepares to take o during Red Flag 16-3 at Nellis Air
Force Base, Nev., July 12. Red Flag provides combat has played host to military units from more than 30 countries to participate in high-end ight integration.
training in a degraded and operationally limited
environment making the training mission as realistic
as possible.