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Warbirds depart for Red Flag

By Airman 1st Class Wesley Wright, Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs / Published July 23, 2008

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NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- One hundred and forty-two Warbirds and three B-52H Stratofortresses left the Minot Air Force Base nest July 19 to participate in Red Flag here with the purpose of improving their combat capabilities and tactical training. 

Red Flag is a two-week, realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. It is conducted on the vast bombing and gunnery ranges at Nellis AFB, and is also one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the Air Warfare Center and Nellis AFB. 

The deployed Warbirds will have two specific objectives here: 

1.) Safely demonstrate B-52 capability to employ weapons/defend the aircraft across the spectrum of conflict to include a large force exercise, dynamic targeting and close air support. 

2.) Safely conduct maintenance operations to support B-52 sorties in a deployed location, exercise the ability to deploy equipment and Airmen and to utilize finite resources and launch B-52s in a combat scenario.

"I look for our people to accomplish great things while we are here and to experience some incredible training," said Lt. Col. Reid Langdon, Minot AFB's detachment commander for the exercise. 

The Warbirds will be working alongside forces from Turkey, Sweden, Brazil and Italy. 

"This is a huge tactical exercise," said Capt. Corey Hancock, 23rd Bomb Squadron B-52 pilot. "I'm pretty pumped. You don't get this type of training opportunity every day. I'm looking forward to working alongside our allies." 

Red Flag was established in 1975 as one of the initiatives directed by General Robert J. Dixon, then commander of Tactical Air Command, to better prepare U.S. forces for combat. The exercise was designed to maximize the combat readiness, capability and survivability of participating units by providing realistic training in a combined air, ground and electronic threat environment while providing for a free exchange of ideas between forces. 

"What the B-52 brings to the fight is the capability to employ in all weather situations and bring an extensive range of weapons to bear on the enemy's defense infrastructure, and command and control elements,"  said Colonel Langdon. "We are here to show the rest of the Air Force and our coalition partners what the B-52 brings to the fight."

Most of the aircraft and personnel deployed here for Red Flag make up the exercise's "Blue" forces. These forces use various tactics to attack range targets such as mock airfields, vehicle convoys, tanks, parked aircraft, bunkered defensive positions and missile sites. These targets are defended by a variety of simulated ground and air threats to give participating aircrews the most realistic combat training possible.

The "Red" force threats include electronically simulated surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery, communications-jamming forces and an opposing enemy air force composed of 64th Aggressor Squadron pilots. These pilots fly the F-16C and are specially trained to replicate the tactics and techniques of potential adversaries. Their mission is to attack the "Blue" forces and protect the target area. 

As for Minot's Airmen participating in the exercise, Colonel Langdon had nothing but high praise. 

"Our people are phenomenal," he said. "This is a total team effort. We could not do what we do without every component we brought from Minot. Everyone is critically important to this mission." 

The main body of Warbirds is expected to return to Minot AFB Aug 2. 

[Editor's note: Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs contributed to this article]
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