JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii - The Hawaii Air National Guard recently kicked off Sentry Aloha, a training exercise that focuses on integration of fighter and support aircraft in a simulated combat setting and includes units from throughout the Air Force and Air National Guard.
“Part of the purpose of Sentry Aloha is to integrate with the other [Air Guard units] as well as some active duty units that are here to better understand how each participant operates.” said Air Force Lt. Col. Kristian Thiele, an F-16 Fighting Falcon instructor pilot with the Texas Air Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing, who is participating in the exercise.
Sentry Aloha exercises are held several times a year provides a cost-effective and realistic combat experience for participating pilots, which aids in pilots and air crews completing their homeland defense and overseas combat missions, said exercise planners.
The exercise gives fighter pilots the experience of flying alongside or against several fighter jets, including the F-22 Raptor, the F-16 and the F-15 Eagle.
“The F-22 is still a relatively new platform compared to how long the F-16 and F-15 have been around, said Thiele, adding that aerial tactics continually change as fighter aircraft evolve. “This really provides a great opportunity for us to work together to bring out the best of all those platforms in order to defeat or neutralize the enemy that we’re training against.”
The exercise also includes many support or cargo aircraft including the C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and C-17 Globemaster III.
More than 800 personnel and 40 aircraft from units throughout the country are taking part in the exercise, with ground support a crucial element keeping all aircraft mission ready.
“A lot of people think these sorties just happen, but there’s a lot of the crew chiefs and all maintenance behind the scenes getting the work done.” said Tech. Sgt. Adam Flood, a crew chief with the 149th FW.
All that comes together to allow for mission success.
“We are definitely fighting some pretty difficult scenarios,” said Thiele, adding there are many learning points from the scenarios, including involvement in newer combat tactics.
And that’s the larger focus of the exercise.
“We don’t necessarily get the opportunity to do a lot of this high-level integration with very robust threats, so we are getting a lot out of it,” said Thiele.