Page 14 - Aerotech News and Review – September 12, 2025

14 September 12, 2025
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432nd Maintenance Group perfects agile
combat employment ability at Bamboo Eagle 25-3
AEROTECH NEWS
By Staff Sgt. Ariel O’Shea
Creech AFB, Nev.
Members of the 432nd Main- tenance Group participated in exercise Bamboo Eagle 25-3 at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., Aug. 4-9, 2025.
Specifically, the 432nd Air- craft Maintenance Squad- ron and 432nd Maintenance Squadron had personnel on the ground to launch and recover the aircraft, perform routine maintenance, communicate with aircrew, maintain aero- space ground equipment and communications systems as part of their role in BE 25-3.
Maintenance professionals play a critical role in the execu- tion of every sortie. While pilots and sensor operators assigned to the 11th Attack Squadron and the 20th Attack Squadron flew the MQ-9 Reaper from ground control stations at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., they did so without ever laying eyes on it. It is the responsibility of those who service the aircraft to make sure that the mission never stops.
“Ever since the Wright Broth- ers, airplanes haven’t f lown without a mechanic and aircraft maintainer,” said Lt. Col. Don- ald Russell, 432nd Maintenance Group deputy commander. “The same stands today in 2025 to employ the MQ-9. With our coalition and our allied partners in a major exercise like this, it’s
not going to happen without aircraft maintenance.”
Bamboo Eagle is a U.S. Air Force Warfare Center exercise that builds upon the tactical expertise exercised in Red Flag and presents participants with opportunities to overcome chal- lenges associated with mission generation and command and control in a contested environ- ment. It demonstrates the U.S. Air Force’s ability to operate and deliver follow-on forces in a contested, dynamic environ- ment against complex threats on short notice.
“What’s unique about this iteration is that this is the first time we’re taking six aircraft and putting them at a contin- gency location,” said 1Lt Rafael Paschal, 432nd Aircraft Main- tenance Squadron officer-in- charge. “This is the first time for our small team to be practicing some of the objectives that we do have, that we’re getting after, and just that alone is historical.”
One of the major objectives of BE-25 was to enable partici- pating units the opportunity to exercise proactive and reactive schemes of maneuver while executing agile combat employ- ment to increase survivability and ensure air superiority for the joint force.
“From an aircraft mainte- nance perspective, it’s no longer just an enabling force,” said Russell. “It has to be thought of in terms of logistics and the Pacific, with its vast air and sea
space, and the tyranny of dis- tance that’s existed in the Pacific forever. Our maintenance folks and our logistics folks also have to be agile in the way that they receive, catch aircraft, service them, reload them as necessary and launch them out quickly and safely. We need to be able to do that in somewhat austere en- vironments and environments where we might only be there for a few hours and then pack up
A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron marshals an MQ-9 Reaper on the flightline during Bamboo Eagle 25-3 on Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., Aug. 5, 2025. The exercise tests advanced tactics and operational concepts, ensuring the joint force remains prepared to respond decisively to global challenges and contested environments.
Air Force photographs by Staff Sgt. Ariel O’Shea
A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing, taxies to the runway during Bamboo Eagle 25-3 on Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., Aug. 5, 2025. The exercise provides Airmen with the opportunity to operate from austere locations, demonstrating the flexibility and endurance required to sustain combat power and ensure survivability in dynamic conditions.
five large operational-level exer- cises to synchronize and evolve enterprise operations, building the Department’s capabilities as a stronger, more lethal force.
“It is truly a joint fight,” said Russell. “Anytime our folks get to go off base and integrate with another service like the U.S. Navy, you can’t put a price tag on that. We are less than a couple of miles from the ocean, and that’s really what this exer- cise is about–agile, command and control and integration of air, joint coalition forces into a maritime situation.”
The 432nd Wing’s participa- tion in BE 25-3 at Naval Station Ventura County reflects the Air Force’s continuing commitment to ensuring that its assets will be used most effectively as part of an overall joint force effort.
“We’re partnering with the Navy offshore, but also here on this base, because who knows where we’ll be operating?” said Russell. “No doubt we’ll have to rely on support from either another service or another country, and so this is the build- ing block of experiences that our young maintainers and our young officers are getting to do.”
Airmen assigned to the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron perform routine maintenance on an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft during Bamboo Eagle 25-3 on Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, Calif., Aug. 5, 2025. The exercise pushes participants to refine their skills, innovate solutions, and adapt to complex operational challenges in a combat-representative environment.
and go to the next location and catch the next landing aircraft.” Leaving Creech Air Force Base provided some obstacles for exercise participants. With a team smaller than what they were accustomed to, they had to adapt to different weather con- ditions and practice minimizing their footprint in the operating area itself. According to the maintainers, they were ready for
every test they faced.
“Being away from our home
station comes with a whole new list of challenges, just being away from what your everyday norm is,” said Senior Airman Bryce Dallas, 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “The fact that we’re able to take a good number of people out and execute a mission any- where shows we’re able to domi- nate no matter where we are on the planet.”
During the exercise, Air- men were also presented with scenarios to demonstrate their
capacity for rapid innovation, empowering them to develop and implement improvised solutions to problem sets in a dynamic environment. It was an opportunity not only to put their training to practical use but to gain experience in the field.
“At Creech, we do a lot of satellite launch and recovery, and that’s a mainstay of our training,” said Senior Airman Reese Rinewalt, 432nd AMXS avionics technician. “For this exercise, we’re able to come out here and not make any mistakes because we validate our train- ing’s effectiveness every day.”
Bamboo Eagle 25-3 dem- onstrated the U.S. Air Force’s ability to operate and deliver follow-on forces in a contested, dynamic environment against complex threats on short notice. It was also the final portion of the Department of the Air Force’s Department-Level Ex- ercise series, which integrated