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4 Desert Wings February 12, 2016
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412th LRS executes F-35 ‘deployment’ plan
by Kenji Thuloweit Idaho base. a commercial airliner has landed Barnes. Another challenge is bussing
Editor 7KLVLVWKH¿UVWVLPXODWHGGH- at Edwards according to Michael “After the plane landed, there the troops across a very active
Moran, 412th LRS, installation runway to the parked, contracted
The 412th Logistics Readi- ployment test of the Joint Strike GHSOR\PHQWRI¿FHU was less than 60 minutes ground 737. The luggage was transported
ness Squadron “deployed” 81 Fighter, specifically to execute time, minus the taxi, and the [bag- by a 60,000-pound k-loader and
personnel from the 31st Test and three key initial operational capa- The 412th LRS has been coor- gage] load was completed in less manually loaded into the cargo
Evaluation Squadron to Moun- bility mission sets. The 31st TES dinating this mission for the past than 35 minutes,” said Moran. bay.
tain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, will execute these in a limited IHZPRQWKVDQG¿QDOO\H[HFXWHG
Feb. 9. scope from a “deployed” location, the loading of 23,000 pounds of According to Moran, these Moran and Chilcoat said there
which is Mountain Home. total personnel and baggage. This types of deployment opportuni- has to be a lot planning and im-
The troops will be involved in was overseen by the only two Air ties can face some obstacles at provising when moving this
a month-long test mission. A day The Air Force contracted a 7UDQVFDUHHU¿HOG$LUPHQRQ(G- Edwards. The base does not have amount of troops at Edwards, but
earlier, six F-35s from the 31st Southwest Airlines 737 to trans- wards, Staff Sgt. Andrew Chil- an air terminal, so the 31st TES the mission went off without a
TES took off and landed at the SRUWWKHWURRSVZKLFKLVWKH¿UVW coat and Staff Sgt. Johnathan troops had to gather in Hangar hitch.
WLPHLQPRUHWKDQ¿YH\HDUVWKDW 1810 while Marine aircraft crew-
men worked on their version of “We’re going to take away a lot
the Joint Strike Fighter — the from this day and use it to create
F-35B short takeoff and vertical policies for future F-35 deploy-
landing variant. ments,” Moran said.
Air Force photographs by Kenji Thuloweit The luggage was transported by a 60,000-pound k-loader and manually
loaded into the cargo bay.
Airmen from the 31st Test and Evaluation Squadron board a Southwest 737 Feb. 9. The commercially contracted
plane took the Airmen, mostly maintainers, to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.
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