Tyndall Eagles dominate 'large force' battles over Savannah

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Amanda Ferrell
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Engaging the mighty Eagle in an air-to-air battle is a risk few are willing to take.

The Eagle community is eager to confront the challenge, however, and they seek the opportunity to tactically rage against other fighter aircraft every chance they get.

The 325th Fighter Wing was represented by the 1st and 95th Fighter Squadrons and associated Aircraft Maintenance Units this month by participating in Large Force Employment missions in Savannah, Ga.

"The biggest benefit we experienced during this deployment to Savannah was the Large Force Employment training, which 325th instructor pilots get very little of while at Tyndall," said Lt. Col. Tom Menker, 1st FS commander. "Large Force Employment training tests all of a fighter pilot's basic skills in a far more demanding and complex environment."

Large Force Employment missions involve more than 16 aircraft in a single mission, and prepare pilots for war-time operations by simulating combat scenarios. Pilots from Tyndall coordinated with fighter squadrons from South Carolina during these large-scale operations.

"The 325th instructor pilots fought adversaries from the McEntire Air National Guard unit located in South Carolina, F-16s from Shaw AFB, S.C. and F/A-18s from the Marine Corps Air Station located in Beauford, S.C.," said Lt. Col. William Routt, 95th Fighter Squadron commander. "In addition, the 95th FS performed side-by-side our combat air forces brethren from the 71st FS stationed at Langley AFB, Va."

Tyndall instructor pilots faced dissimilar adversaries, and more importantly, faced more advanced weapons simulations than are typically encountered here at Tyndall, said Colonel Routt.

"We needed to - and did - push ourselves in a more demanding environment to enhance our tactical viability," said the 95th FS commander.

Conducting missions against dissimilar aircraft trains pilots to evaluate air-to-air tactics that are not typically encountered during training against other F-15s. The real world applications are great, because pilots must be prepared to defeat the enemy regardless of the type of aircraft they fly.

Engaging dissimilar aircraft requires Eagle pilots to quickly interpret the adversary's weapons capabilities and maneuvering skills.

"Large Force Employments provide unique problems that are representative of the real world threat, and translate directly to better instruction for our pilots," said Lt. Col. Garth Doty, 95th FS director of operations. "And working with our sister service forces our mission commanders to solve problems outside of the normal scenario in terms of coordinating tactical plans that F-16s, F/A-18s or any other outfit will understand."

Scheduling airspace and coordinating briefs over the phone with the F-16 and F/A-18 squadrons located in South Carolina added a challenge to the already complex mission planning process.

"During deployments to Red Flag, Maple Flag and our recent trip to Trident Fury, the
flying schedule was published through an air tasking order, and the type and number of missions were known well in advance," said Colonel Menker. "Our trip to Savannah differed in that we had to mesh our training objectives with those of the units we flew against. Setting up these missions and accomplishing our differing training objectives was a daily challenge that could only have been successfully accomplished through industrious, aggressive Airmen."

Working together to achieve the objective and tactically succeeding is, "a perishable skill, and it's vital to keep Tyndall instructors as honed as possible," said Colonel Doty.

The logistics involved in planning Large Force Employments are complicated, especially since every aspect of flight operations must be well orchestrated.

"This Large Force Employment was different from most Tyndall deployments because the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah is a 'bare bones' base," said Capt. Jeffrey Galloway, 95th FS instructor pilot and project officer.

The CRTC has basic facilities, but security forces, firefighters, maintainers and other assets deployed from Tyndall as well, he said.

"Scheduling airspace for our missions becomes challenging during Large Force Employments," said Capt. Taylor Ferrell, 1st FS instructor pilot and project officer. "Because of the number of aircraft involved in the missions, we have to be extra cautious and deconflict with other jets to ensure flight safety."

Overcoming challenges led to beneficial training for pilots and maintainers alike.

The 1st and 95th AMUs worked side-by-side in Savannah, and despite the limitations of operating without many of the resources they have at Tyndall, they succeeded in launching every scheduled sortie.

"We successfully executed every scheduled sortie, plus eight incentive rides," said Capt. Robert Anson, 1st AMU officer in charge. "In other words, we achieved better than 100 percent success. As expeditionary Airmen, we enjoy any opportunity to take our operation on the road and operate out of a new place."

The squadrons returned to Tyndall with added tactical and technical experience, and proof that the Eagle community carries the legacy of air-to-air dominance where ever they operate.

"I was highly impressed with the professionalism displayed from allour dissimilar friends," said Colonel Routt. "All the units we competed
with were exceptional, and I'm glad to have them on our team."