74th FS Airmen to participate in Green Flag West

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Brigitte N. Brantley-Sisk
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Nearly 100 Airmen from the 74th Fighter Squadron are gearing up to take part in a mass training exercise known as Green Flag West 11-02.

Held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., the exercise is for Air Combat Command units who provide close-air support and is designed to be like Iraq and Afghanistan.

"The GFW scenarios are useful because they're realistic," said Capt. Grant Coppin, who is a 74th FS A-10C Thunderbolt II instructor pilot and last participated in 2008. "They accurately portray what might be seen in Southwest Asia, including the villages and compounds."

In addition to giving participants an idea of the general environment, the exercise also allows them to solidify their relationship with the Army.

"We are already proficient at demonstrating we know how to integrate with the Army, but this gives us the chance to validate it," Captain Coppin said. "It's also very useful for other fixed-wing aircraft pilots to be able to practice this as they might not otherwise have the chance."

Another captain who hasn't had as many opportunities to work with the Army said he's glad he'll get the chance.

"Practicing the close-air support on such a massive scale will be valuable training," said Capt. John Meyers, 74th FS assistant chief of training. "It'll also be good to work with the Army so I can have a better understanding of what the guys on the ground do, see what they bring to the fight, and how to best support them.

"This exercise will give us a great overall opportunity to hone our skills and prepare for the fight," the captain said. "This is my first Green Flag exercise and it'll be good to have this training under my belt for my first deployment."

The exercise also provides a first for some pilots who may not have a lot of experience.

"Green Flag West can be especially useful to new pilots who might not have dropped live munitions before," Captain Coppin said. "Training with joint terminal attack controllers and dealing with scenarios such as convoy escorts makes this an even better training environment for new and veteran pilots alike."

The personnel will include not only pilots, but dozens of support personnel and maintainers. While some of the setup will occur earlier, Green Flag West 11-02 is scheduled to run from Dec. 4 to 10.