South Carolina Air Guard hosts Moroccan air force officials

Sgt. Stephen Hudson
South Carolina National Guard

During a visit to the 169th Fighter Wing in the South Carolina Air National Guard on McEntire Joint National Guard Base, Eastover S.C., Sept. 28, 2010, Senior Master Sgt. Barry Boyle, supervisor in the 169th Maintenance Squadron, explains the use of the phase dock to Col. Maj. Moha Ouadadouch and Col. Abdelhak Sanhaji, leaders in the Moroccan Air Force. Army Lt. Col. Jeffery Wyatt, Sr., Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Bridgers and Capt. Grady Patterson IV also participated in the tour. The Moroccan Air Force plans to construct a new base like McEntire with all the same aircraft and mission requirements. (U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Tracci Dorgan)
download hi-res photo

MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C., (10/2/10) -- The South Carolina Air National Guard hosted two members of the Moroccan Air Force, who toured here from Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 to get a first-hand look at the F-16 Fighting Falcon, which Morocco will soon fly.

McEntire was chosen because the Moroccan air force recently purchased Block 52 F-16's and those jets have many of the same capabilities as the Block 52s flown by the South Carolina Air Guard.

Brig. Gen. Scott Williams, 169th Fighter Wing commander, welcomed the Moroccan Air Force officials to the base and after a brief presentation of the South Carolina Air Guard’s history and mission, they toured the base’s facilities and construction areas.

The tour included numerous stops at the back shops such as propulsion maintenance, base operations and life support.

“It’s a great opportunity for them to see the operations, support and training here at McEntire,” said Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey T. Wyatt, chief of the office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco. “They are learning from the best here in South Carolina.”

Not only are the missions similar, but the operating budget and physical aspects of the new base in Morocco are very similar to McEntire, said Wyatt.

The Moroccans, who are joined with the Utah National Guard in the National Guard State Partnership Program, are building a new base to house the aircraft. The tour of McEntire included ongoing and recently completed construction projects. The base is undergoing a number of massive construction projects including a new runway, ramp and alert facilities.

“It’s a little bit of everything here on base,” Wyatt said.

In addition to touring Air National Guard facilities, the Moroccan officials toured the Army National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility to get an overview of the Army Guard’s aviation mission.

The delegation also spent one day at Shaw Air Force Base in nearby Sumter to compare and contrast the differences between operations at the two bases.

“It’s a lot of new information and very interesting for us,” said Col. Abdelhak Sanhaji.

Col. Maj. Moha Ouadadouch received an orientation flight in the F-16 to view the aircraft’s capabilities.

Ouadadouch, who has flown in the F-16 four times, said the flight was "very good." It was the first time he has flown with the new avionics and he said he could feel the difference in the way the plane handled.

The partnership between South Carolina and Morocco began in January, when the Utah Air Guard refueled two South Carolina Air Guard F-16s en route to the air show in Marrakech, Morocco.

The South Carolina Air National Guard was formed in December 1946 and today is made up of more than 1,200 members. In August, Airmen from the 169th Fighter Wing returned from a 120-day AEF deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Printer Friendly