JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - More than 90 Airmen from the 173rd Fighter Wing, Oregon National Guard, left the snowy skies of Klamath Falls, Ore., for the tropical paradise of Hawaii March 2, but it wasn't the sun and sand they were chasing in their F-15 Eagles.
Members of the 173rd FW were there to support the multi-unit exercise Sentry Aloha, a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise that provides an opportunity for dissimilar aircraft combat training with a special focus on air-to-air combat between F-15, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-22 Raptor aircraft.
"The purpose of Sentry Aloha is to continue the development of tactics for fourth generation and fifth generation fighters in a complex training environment," said Air Force Maj. Sean Sullivan, 173rd Fighter Wing instructor pilot and project officer for Sentry Aloha. "We wanted to increase our individual pilot's proficiencies in flying with F-22s and advanced tactics; so we are, in turn, able to teach those to our students."
Learning what to expect when sharing the airspace with multiple air-frames is extremely important to combat pilots. The knowledge and skill-set they gain from flying dissimilar aircraft combat training is absolutely essential when deployed to a war zone
"While this is great training for our pilots, we are actually also helping to validate some new tactics that will be used Air Force-wide once they are thoroughly tested," said Air Force Col. Jeffrey Silver, 173rd Fighter Wing commander.
The training was held at the 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Air Force Base, where the 154th is currently flying the fifth generation fighter F-22 Raptor. The Hawaii Air Guard F-22s and Oregon Air Guard F-15s were joined by F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 18th Aggressor Squadron out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
Additionally, this exercise provided an excellent opportunity for the aircraft maintainers and support personnel to operate in a deployed environment, since leaving home station and working out of a different location presents many challenges.
"There are a lot of challenges when working in a different environment. We don't have the resources here that we would have at home. We are forced to plan ahead and work with a limited number of people," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Joel Scott, 173rd Fighter Wing F-15 crew chief.
Overall the exercise was a success, and the two weeks flew by quickly. On March18 the 173rd, who are also the only Air Force F-15 schoolhouse in the Nation, packed up their jets and equipment and said goodbye to the balmy weather, returning home to snow and ice.