KADENA AIR BASE, Japan –
Team Kadena pulled off their most aggressive exercise to date with Forceful
Tiger off the coast of Okinawa April 1.
Forceful Tiger was a large force
exercise designed to demonstrate the 18th Wing's combat capabilities to defend
Okinawa and had more participation from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron than
ever before.
"What we accomplished was an integration of all the mission
sets at Kadena over an extended period," said Lt. Col. Jack Flynt, 909th ARS
commander. "This is so we could actually exercise multiple different tactics,
techniques and procedures that we normally don't get to in an LFE
scenario."
Twenty-four F-15C Eagles from the 67th and 47th Fighter
Squadrons along with eight F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Wisconsin Air National
Guard's 115th Fighter Wing, simulated allied and opposing forces to strengthen
their ability to defend Okinawa in realistic scenarios.
The 33rd and 31st
Rescue Squadrons were able to play on both sides as well. The allied side
practiced rescuing downed pilots while the opposing forces simulated aggressors
during the mission.
In order to ensure the "allied" pilots and crews
could accomplish the mission, the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron provided
an E-3 Sentry to manage the battle -- guaranteeing each aircraft had enough
fuel, weapons and were postured effectively within the training
range.
"The E-3 Sentries played an important part within this exercise,"
said Capt. Jesus Barciaga, 961st AACS air battle manager. "They were responsible
for making sure the right assets were at the right place, at the right
time."
For the aggressors, the 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron and 623rd Air
Control Flight provided a similar function. The 82nd RS RC-135 Rivet Joint
provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support, while the 623rd
ACF provided radar support.
With 50 aircraft in the air, the 909th Air
Refueling Squadron and 17th Special Operations Squadron fueled the fight with 11
KC-135 Stratotankers for the fighters and an MC-130P Combat Shadow for the
HH-60G Pavehawks. The Stratotankers alone provided more than 800,000 pounds of
fuel in-air.
Although this is not the first exercise that the 909th ARS
has participated in, Forceful Tiger did present a unique opportunity for
them.
"We have a number of exercises that happen on a routine basis and
luckily the 909th ARS has been able to support these missions," said Lt. Col.
John Burdick, 909th ARS director of operations. "We have never been able to
support an LFE to this scale like we have with Forceful Tiger."
Flynt
explained that this was due to the high operations tempo and demand for air
refueling in the Pacific Air Force's area of responsibility.
"This was
one of the largest exercises we have ever had just because of the amount of air
refueling tanker play that we put forward," said Flynt. "That refueling allowed
us to push this exercise to four hours."
An exercise of this proportion
from mostly within Team Kadena would not have been possible without the help and
support from other key players.
"This exercise would not have been nearly
successful without the support of the 18th Operational Support Squadron, 718th
Air Maintenance Squadron, 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels distribution
operators, as well as the Joint Personnel Recovery Center and Air Mobility
Division within the 613th Air and Space Operations Center at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii," said Burciaga. "Their support was critical to enhancing
our ability to defend Okinawa."