Page 2 - Desert Lightning News October 2015

2 October 2, 2015
357th FS trains at Green Flag-West
Senior Airman Betty R. Chevalier
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
NEWS NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE,
Nev. -- More than 100 Airmen
and eight A-10 Thunderbolt
IIs from Davis-Monthan Air
Force Base, Arizona, arrived
at Nellis AFB to participate in
Green Flag-West 15-10 from
Sept. 13-25.
Green Flag-West is an ad-
vanced, realistic, and relevant
air-to-surface training exer-
cise, preparing joint and co-
alition warfighters to meet
combatant commander re-
quirements across air, space,
and cyberspace. It is a joint ex- space and attrite enemy forces. “We get use to the scenery
ercise administered by the U.S.
Air Force Warfare Center and
Nellis AFB through the 549th
Combat Training Squadron.
“Green Flag-West is the pre-
miere U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army
and U.S. Marine Corps joint
close air support integration
exercise,” said Capt. Christo-
pher “Geronimo” Johns, 357th
Fighter Squadron flight com-
mander and Green Flag-West
project officer. “Ground units
will utilize Fort Irwin, (Cali-
fornia) and the National Train-
ing Center to execute a large
force-on-force ground battle
between two superior forces
while integrating rotary and
fixed wing assets to destroy
‘enemy’ forces in the scenario.”
During the exercise, eight
units from around the coun-
try, including the 41st Elec-
tronic Combat Squadron and
the 357th Fighter Squadron
from D-M, will team up to
create the scenario. The sce-
nario portrays threats friendly
forces can expect to encoun-
ter including tanks, artillery,
surface-to-air gunfire and
missiles, rotary and fixed wing
air threats and command and
control jamming.
“Units participating gain re-
alistic wartime experience in
order to clear some ‘fog and
friction’ prior to actually sup-
porting COCOMs in active
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(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Betty R. Chevalier)
U.S. Airmen from the 355th Maintenance Squadron remove a travel pod from an A-10 Thunderbolt II after the aircraft landed at Nellis Air
Force Base, Nev., Sept. 10. More than 100 personnel and eight A-10s from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., are participating in Green Flag-West
15-10, an advanced, realistic, and relevant air to surface training exercise.
areas of responsibility,” Johns “For us as student pilots, enemy threats,” Johns said.
Although the 357th FS has
said. “Ground commanders this is our first exposure to
been participating in Green
will take away a better un- a large force exercise,” said Flag for multiple years, this
is only the third time the unit
derstanding of what air pow- 1st Lt. Shannon Smith, 357th has brought the upgrade train-
ing pilots in an effort to ex-
er can do to shape the battle Fight Squadron student pilot. pand their experience before
they are assigned to their first
operational squadron.
JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack (in Arizona) and the type of “Flying out of a different
location and observing the
Controllers)will experience missions we are flying. Com- instructor pilots prepare and
debrief GF (Green Flag) sor-
communication challenges in ing here now, we get exposed ties exposes the upgrade pilots
to additional airmanship tools,
the field, gain aircraft control to different airframes and understanding of operations
away from home station, and
experience, and receive in- JTACS, and then we actually they receive a glimpse into the
life of an A-10 pilot during ‘de-
struction from A-10 instruc- get to work with the (E-3 Air- ployed’ operations,” Johns said.
tor pilots on CAS (Close Air borne Warning and Control By the end of the two-week
exercise, the 357th FS instruc-
Support)procedures through System aircraft) and refuel as tor and student pilots will
leave Nellis AFB with more
face-to-face debriefs after part of our mission.” knowledge and skills then
when they came. They will
each mission.” While here, the students able to use these skills while
deployed and during future
There are 17 pilots from will qualify on different as- exercise around the country.
the 357th FS playing a role in pects of the aircraft including
Green Flag. Along with them, aerial refueling and weapons.
they brought six upgrade “They are flying syllabus sor-
training A-10 pilots from the ties that provide instruction on
formal training unit on D-M. low altitude surface attack tac-
Because they are not fully tics, flying as a wingman, ex-
mission qualified, Air Force ecuting briefed geometry, and
Instructions prohibit their employing weapons in close
participation in a Flag exer- proximity to the ground and
cise, but they can utilize the friendly personnel to destroy
training complex ranges and enemy targets while providing
resources the instructor pilots mutual support to their flight
are using. lead in order to survive against