Top FS awarded 'bragging rights'

  • Published
  • By Airman First Class Anthony J. Hyatt
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. --  Will the 95th Fighter Squadron claim a three-peat victory and again have bragging rights as the top Tyndall Fighter Squadron?

The 95th FS earned bragging rights by winning the Turkey Shoot competition the last two consecutive times the competition was held here. Pulling off another win against the 2nd and 43rd Fighter Squadrons will be an even greater challenge as the squadrons are well overdue for a victory.

The Turkey Shoot event is an operational competition testing the preparation and performance of fighter pilots, intelligence professionals, aircraft maintainers and air battle managers.

The competition pits the 2nd, 95th and 43rd Fighter Squadrons, and their associated aircraft maintenance units and intelligence personnel, against one another to determine the overall victor in the arena of air dominance. Teams from the 325th Air Control Squadron support each fighter squadron in executing the air control portion of the mission.

"The purpose of the Turkey Shoot is to encourage the warrior spirit and foster competition between the various units, while at the same time, providing a chance for our folks to face a realistic combat scenario," said Capt. Christopher Ridlon, 325th Operations Support Squadron instructor pilot.

The training gained from the experience is invaluable. A team from the 325th OSS formulates the combat scenario that pilots, maintainers and support personnel must react to and mission plan for with limited information and preparation time.

"The 325th OSS, also called the "White Force," creates the scenarios, oversees the planning and execution of the Turkey Shoot and grades the performance of each team ultimately determining the winner," said Capt. Taylor Ferrell, 2nd FS instructor pilot.

The competition is intended to mimic the real-world combat environment where an adversary's tactics and intentions may be unknown to our forces. The Turkey Shoot competition tests the ability of Tyndall instructor pilots and support personnel to plan for and execute successful air-to-air tactics against enemy threats.

"Competition amongst fellow fighter pilots is absolutely necessary to sharpen combat skills," said Capt. Jason Camilletti, 43rd FS instructor pilot. "It's of particular importance at a training base because we have few opportunities outside student training to practice what we instruct. It's also important for a young weapon system to tackle different tactical scenarios."


"Since 325th Fighter Wing is a training organization, we usually fly to a restricted threat, and this is one of the few times our instructors, controllers and intelligence folks get to face a more challenging scenario," said Captain Ridlon.

The Turkey Shoot consists of three distinct elements: two simulator missions, one Air Combat Training flying sortie and an intelligence test.

"The scenario each squadron faces is identical, and each team is graded on their performance," said Captain Ferrell.

Maintenance units are graded on the quality and combat readiness of the jets that participate in the Turkey Shoot flight as well as the weapons loading competition, said Captain Ferrell.

"The intelligence test is multiple choice and covers material from enemy threat systems and tactics, to blue systems," said Captain Ridlon.

The performance in each category affects the squadron's overall score.

"We did okay in the Offensive Counter Air simulator, but there's always room for improvement," said Capt. Michael Boomsma, 2nd FS instructor pilot. "We escorted F-16's simulating a bombing run."

Those tasked to compete in the simulator portion of the event were given a scenario different from the flying mission.

"The Defensive Counter Air simulator presented a challenging scenario for the 95th FS," said Capt. Jeremy Lushnat, 95th FS instructor pilot. "The sim generated good learning points for all of the participants."

Every element of each team is evaluated. Wing Weapons and Tactics grade the flying and control portions, Wing Intelligence grades the intelligence briefs and the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron grades the maintenance competition.

After totaling the scores from all elements of the competition, individual and squadron awards are presented to top performers. Along with the trophy, and more coveted by most, are the bragging rights that come with the victory.

Winners of the 325th Fighter Wing Turkey Shoot competition will be announced at 3 p.m. today in Hangar 2. Winners will be named in 16 categories, and one overall winner will be announced.

Will the 95th FS win back-to-back-to-back?