Homestead Airmen maintain battle readiness during Green Flag

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Lou Burton
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  One hundred and sixty two Airmen from Homestead Air Reserve Base participated in Operation Green Flag at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Aug. 12 through 31.

"Operation Green Flag is a battle field scenario used primarily to train the Army on battleground scenarios," said Lt. Col. Brett Waring, Detachment 1, 548th Combat Training Squadron Commander. "The Air Force offers aerial support in various forms ranging from armed over-watch to close air support."

In a large-scale simulated battle field, the 3rd Brigade of the Army 82nd Airborne arranged upwards of 5,000 Soldiers on the ground at Fort Polk, La. During the exercise, ground operations sent requests for aerial support from the 93rd Fighter Squadron F-16's located at Barksdale AFB.

"While the Army is fighting on the ground, we provide close air support," said 1st Lt. Bryan Beasley, Detachment 93, 495th Fighter Group, F-16 pilot. "We fly south to the military operation area, which is the simulated battlefield that has approved airspace for military flying operations. As in actual combat, we receive a fragmented piece of the battle plan that outlines what our mission objectives are and what type of support the Army is requesting."

The 18 F-16 pilots flew 10 jets for 162 sorties equaling 240 flying hours during Operation Green Flag.

"This exercise utilizes a variety of moving parts," said Beasley. "Not only is it great training for the Army, but, as pilots, we get to practice our flying maneuvers in a populated area that has various ground and air activity to contend with."

Maj. Robin Lytle, 93rd FS pilot reached a milestone during the exercise when he surpassed his 3,000th hours of flight for his career in the F-16. 

Ensuring each jet met flying specifications, Airmen worked quickly on the ground to recover aircraft and prepare them for the next mission. 

"Our maintenance and operations people worked professionally and proficiently to regenerate aircraft to ensure our pilots were ready to put bombs on targets," said Maj. Russell Moses, 482nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron systems officer in charge. "Once you get in theater, you have to regenerate quickly. This exercise really gave our Airmen the training to produce at an actual deployed tempo."

Previously called Air Warrior Exercise, Operation Green Flag has been conducting this type of training since the 1980's.

"The training has constantly evolved since its inception," said Waring. "Operation Green Flag customizes the exercise scenarios to reflect what is actually happening in real world operations."

Evolving on all levels of technology, practices, and personnel, the 482nd FW was able to integrate a diverse group of reserve and active duty statuses.

"Maintenance was comprised equally of traditional reservist, air reserve technicians, and active duty personnel," said Capt. James Bowron, Detachment 93, 495th FG, Aircraft Maintenance Systems assistant officer in charge. "Their work has been seamless. You can't tell who is in what status because of the quality of work across the board. "