Page 1 - Edwards AFB Desert Wings 2-26-16

Volume 63, Number 33 Serving the community of Edwards Air Force Base, California February 26, 2016

www.edwards.af.mil – www.facebook.com/edwardsairforcebase

TW annual awards showcases top performers

The 412th Test Wing hosted its annual awards banquet at Club Muroc
Feb. 18 where accolades and hardware were handed out to the wing’s top
performing individuals and one team.

Congratulations to all awardees for setting the standard in their respec-
tive categories!

Airman of the Year — Senior Airman Raquel R. Caramanno, 412th Air Force photograph by Ethan Wagner
Medical Group
Left to right: Brig. Gen. Carl Schaefer, 412th Test Wing commander, presents the 2015 Airman of the Year award
NCO of the Year — Staff Sgt. Michael J. Burd, 412th Mission Support to Senior Airman Raquel R. Caramanno, 412th Medical Group, along with Chief Master Sgt. David Smith, 412th
Group 7:FRPPDQGFKLHIDQG'DQQ\%D]]HOO¿HOGUHSUHVHQWDWLYHIRU0LOLWDU\DQG9HWHUDQV$IIDLUVIRU&DOLIRUQLD6WDWH
Senator Sharon Runner.
SNCO of the Year — Master Sgt. Thomas H. Wagner, 412th MSG
Individual Mobilization Augmentee SNCO — Master Sgt Anhtuan L.
Dang, 412th Test Wing Judge Advocate
First Sergeant of the Year — Master Sgt Dyjuan R. Washington, 412th
Maintenance Group
&RPSDQ\*UDGH2I¿FHURIWKH<HDU² Capt. David F. Jacobs, 412th
TW/JA
IMA CGO of the Year — Capt. Francisco Ochoa, 412th TW/JA
)LHOG*UDGH2I¿FHURIWKH<HDU² Maj. Nancy L. Baccheschi, 412th
Electronic Warfare Group
IMA FGO of the Year — Maj. Maureen E. Marshall, 412th TW/JA
Honor Guardsman of the Year — Tech. Sgt. Oscar G. Lopez, 412th
MSG
Honor Guardsman Program Manager — Master Sgt. Harold Padua,
412th MSG
Supervision/Management — Jessica M. Peterson, 412th Test Engi-
neering Group
6FLHQWL¿F(QJLQHHULQJ² Andrew Corp, 412th EWG

See AWARDS, Page 8

Edwards F-35As test readiness at Mountain Home AFB

by Airman 1st Class Jessica H. Evans gration opportunities with F-15E and A-10 Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Jeremy L. Mosier
Mountain Home AFB, Idaho aircraft,” said Maj. Christopher White, F-35
project manager with the 31st Test Evalu- An F-35A parks for the night under the sunshades at Mountain Home Air Force Base,
Six F-35As arrived at Mountain Home ation Squadron from Edwards AFB. “This, Idaho, Feb. 18, 2016. The F-35s are testing their combat capabilities through an operational
AFB, Idaho, Feb. 8, 2016, from Edwards combined with outstanding airspace capa- deployment test at Mountain Home AFB range complexes.
AFB, Calif., to begin an operational de- ble of providing F-35s with a robust threat
ployment test at a nearby range complex. laydown, makes Mountain Home AFB the to 20 years from now it will make up the ment through a 360-degree view of the bat-
The test will help develop the concept of ideal location to assess the F-35’s ability to YDVWPDMRULW\RIRXU¿JKWHUIRUFHVRLW¶VLP- tlespace.
operations as well as validate the aircraft’s operate while deployed.” portant that we wring it out as much as we
capability to deploy. can now so that it can be the best jet pos- Designed with the entire battlespace in
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In order for the U.S. Air Force to declare approximately four sorties a day with their technologically sophisticated multirole
initial operating capability for the F-35A, 4th generation counterparts, dropping 20- Unlike the 4th generation aircraft, the fighter built to this day, with advanced
the aircraft must be able to execute three 30 inert weapons during multiple training F-35 uses multiple sensor fusion and inte- stealth, speed and agility, fully-fused sen-
key mission sets: suppression and destruc- scenarios throughout the test. grated avionics to give pilots the ability to
tion of enemy air defense; air interdiction quickly and fully understand the environ- See IDAHO, Page 4
missions; as well as conduct basic close air “Mountain Home is great because the
support — to include alert launches. Each of ranges and airspace here allow us to drop
these functions will be executed in a limited ZHDSRQVDQGÀ\VRUWLHVDWUDWHVZHFDQ¶W
capacity to measure the effectiveness of the back home,” said Maj. Colin Marshall, chief
weapons system in line with the IOC prog- of Standardization and Evaluation, also with
ress. The deployment test is designed not WKHVW7(6³,W¶VIXQWR¿QGDWDUJHWE\
only to identify capabilities, but also any talking to ground controllers, drop a bomb
limitations the aircraft may have. on that target, and then watch an A-10 roll
in and strafe it, all while an F-15E orbits
$VDWKJHQHUDWLRQPXOWLUROH¿JKWHUZLWK supersonic above and prepares for the next
electronic warfare and multi-spectral fused attack.”
sensor capabilities, the F-35 is designed to
EHFRPSDUDEOHWRFXUUHQWWDFWLFDO¿JKWHUVLQ With innovative capabilities, the 5th gen-
terms of maneuverability, but optimized for eration F-35 is able to meet security needs
stealth. Mountain Home AFB offers the per- IRUWKH86DQGSURYLGHWKHZDU¿JKWHUXQ-
fect environment and integration experienc- precedented situational awareness and the
es to test the aircraft’s abilities, forming the UHTXLUHGVXUYLYDELOLW\WR¿JKWDQGZLQLQ
foundation for deployed F-35 operations. highly-contested environments.

“Mountain Home offers excellent inte- “The F-35 is the future of the Air Force
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