Aircrew ramps up with Green Flag

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman La'Shanette V. Garrett
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  In a combined effort between the operations and maintenance team, more than 100 Airmen from the 336th Fighter Squadron, also known as the "Rockets," arrived here, Jan.15, from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to participate in Green Flag East.

Green Flag East is Air Combat Command's premier close-air-support exercise. All fighter squadrons and air support operations squadrons scheduled to deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility are expected to complete a Green Flag exercise as part of their spin-up training. The exercise is designed to get joint tactical air controllers and aircrew ready for their combat deployment.

The training exercise, which began Jan. 16 and ran through Jan. 29, mirrors many of the irregular warfare-conditions the F-15E Strike Eagle aircrews will see while supporting overseas contingency operations.

"Green Flag East provides our aircrew and maintainers an outstanding opportunity to exercise contingency close-air-support operations," said Lt. Col. Jim Howard, 336th Detachment commander. "Particular stages of the exercise closely resemble the combat operations being flown daily in Afghanistan and formerly in Iraq. Perfecting this interaction is crucial to providing kinetic air strikes against our enemies and protecting our soldiers and Airmen on the ground."

The sorties flown here provided the 336th aircrew a first look at how they will operate and interact with a brigade-sized Army unit and their Air Force air liaison officers and joint terminal attack controllers.

Some of the training also included sorties being flown to Fort Polk, La., to give the pilots a close-up and personal look at the type of location they may encounter in a deployed environment.

"The Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk looks like the real deal," said Lt. Col. Pat McKeever, 548th Combat Training Squadron commander. "The range includes multiple small villages with Hollywood facades on the buildings populated with in-character role players who go about normal pattern of life found in a small Afghan village. Home-station and virtually all other training focus on some part task training like weapons employment or aircrew training."

Enhanced integration with those maneuvering ground troops is an objective of the training.

"Being able to quickly relay the tactical ground situation, establishing who are the good guys and bad guys, and employ the appropriate level of force to achieve the desired outcome within the rules of engagement sounds simple, but can be very involved in the heat of battle," stated Colonel Howard.

The Rockets brought six F-15Es in order to fly four jets in each of the two exercise periods daily. Other aircraft involved in the exercise included AWACS, JSTARS and multiple Army aviation helicopters and RPAs.

Colonel Howard stated that Green Flag benefits all players in the joint fight. It helps aircrew members understand how the Army maneuvers and how they expect to employ their forces in current operations.

This exercise does for CAS operations what Red Flag has done for years relative to major combat operations -- it helps remove the fog of war from the first exposure to air support of ground combat operations according to Colonel Howard.

"The focused two weeks of training helped solidify the joint procedures that will be required during our next allied expeditionary force rotation," he said.