NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --
The Virginia Air National Guard,192nd Fighter Wing F-22A
Raptor pilots and maintainers, bring experience and expertise to Red Flag 17-1 held
at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, from Jan. 23 to Feb. 10.
Red Flag is an aerial combat training exercise involving
air, space and cyber domains from the United States and allied forces. Pilots,
maintenance and support personnel are trained for real air combat situations.
The realistic combat training scenarios are held in the
skies above the 2.9 million acre Nevada Test and Training Range northwest of
Las Vegas.
“Red Flag is a Total Force effort to maximize multi-domain
integration in a relevant and realistic exercise,” said Lt. Col. Disco, 149th
Fighter Squadron pilot.
The 149th FS, assigned to the VAANG, is fully integrated
with the 1st FW out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia. The drill status
and full-time Guardsmen work side-by-side with their active duty counterparts
to fulfill missions at JBLE on a daily basis.
“Full-time and drill status Guardsmen are here for the
exercise fulfilling the same role we expect to fill in combat operations,” said
Maj. Claw, 149th FS pilot.
Maintainers and pilots from the Air Guard bring many years
of military and civilian experience providing continuity to their counterparts
at Red Flag. This experience facilitates
efficiency and the ability to transfer knowledge to others.
“Many of our active duty colleagues are here for the first
time while the 149th pilots have participated in numerous Red Flag exercises,
resulting in years of training and knowledge,” said Claw. “This allows us to
fly as mission commander, package lead or wingman, serving as mentors for
younger pilots.”
According to Disco, the 192nd FW provides coalitions
partners participating in the exercise with the highest levels of expertise in
maintenance, aircrew flight equipment, intelligence, and operations.
“It is extremely powerful to take a drill status Guardsman from
his or her civilian job and expose them to as close to combat training as
possible with our allies,” said Disco. “