BOISE, Idaho – The 124th Fighter Wing participated in Combat Shield to assess electronic warfare readiness on Thursday at Gowen Field.
Combat Shield assesses all combat Air Force wings to ensure they are following Air Force Instructions 10-706 and 10-707. The goals of assessment are to provide data to MAJCOMs and leadership about electronic warfare readiness so they can plan appropriately, and to share best practices and lessons learned with other wings.
“The vision of Combat Shield is making sure tomorrow’s EW risk is reflected in ops and maintenance today,” said Lt. Col. Michael Brazda, director of Combat Shield from the 53d Electronic Warfare Group.
Combat Shield began in 1990 and falls under the 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron, which is a part of the Air Warfare Center, 53d Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. Two teams, one focused on the east, based out of Eglin AFB, and the other focused on the west based out of Nellis AFB, do tours each year to conduct the assessments.
The assessment process is multi-faceted and includes checking Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester equipment, a series of interviews with maintenance, operations and the back shops to find out how equipment is performing and what processes are currently being used for EW, as well as a cyber assessment. The assessment will conclude Friday.