Veterans, first-timers benefit from Red Flag exercises

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sarah E. Stegman
  • Red Flag Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  Some of the pilots who come to Red Flag are young, enthusiastic flyers who have little to no deployment experience; others have many combat hours and years of experience under their belts. 

Either way, both sets gain valuable knowledge and skills in just two weeks here.

The exercise is set up to train pilots to engage in realistic combat scenarios in the Nevada desert in an area spanning more than 15,000 square miles known as the Nevada Test and Training Range. 

The large force employment, or LFE, includes various airframes from sister services and allied nations and gives the pilots the opportunity to train in a combined and joint atmosphere.

For this Red Flag exercise, 10 United States units and two coalition countries are represented. Air Force units include Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash.; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Hurlburt Field, Fla.; McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.; Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Sister service units are from Marine Corps Air Stations Miramar, Calif.; and Yuma, Ariz.; and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash. Allied units are from Istrana Air Force Base, Italy; and Al Dafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates.

"Training with an international presence is a great experience to see how we would work together and how their different rules impact what we can do to make the mission successful," said Capt. Warren Carroll, a B-52 pilot from Barksdale's 20th Bomb Squadron.

A key aspect of Red Flag is continuing to learn, whether it's a new tactic or learning the next level in the overall scheme of planning and getting jets in the air to successfully complete the mission.

"Our training doesn't begin here at Red Flag," said Lt. Col. Tyrell Chamberlain, Barksdale's 20th BS commander. "This is our playoffs - we've been practicing and rehearsing to get to this point. Before coming here to integrate with the other forces on this scale, we had exercises at our home station to prepare for the big game.

"We had BUFF Smoke, where we graded ourselves to get our bombs on target, on time, every time. We also trained in an exercise called Combat Hammer, where we did weapon system evaluations to precisely hit every target," said Colonel Chamberlain, a two-time Red Flag veteran who also has combat hours in Operation Allied Force and Operation Enduring Freedom. "Now that we're here for the integration, it's game on -- we're ready and prepared to work with every unit to train in these scenarios."

Colonel Chamberlain and Captain Carroll agree that the training received here in a controlled environment cannot be replicated.

"For all of us, whether we're fighters, tankers, bombers or gathering intel, just having this sheer number of people under one roof to train together and fight this war would be unimaginable to do anywhere else," the colonel explained.

"I've been a part of other exercises before, but this one is unique in the fact that it's so complex and the scenarios are as close to real combat we can get without actually being there," the captain added. "How we integrate with a combination of U.S. and coalition forces here is ultimately training us to go to war and to be effective."

Colonel Chamberlain said Red Flag also gives up-and-coming officers an opportunity to get leadership experience in the next level of commanding a squadron.

"While our newest guys are training at the tactical level, this is the perfect opportunity for us to pull a few of the more experienced pilots to shadow leadership to train at the next level," Colonel Chamberlain said. "The leaderships' previous experiences can help guide the younger pilots during the exercise."

As squadron commander, Colonel Chamberlain acts as an adviser his squadron members.

"I help the young guys talk to the right people at the right time to get the answers they need to make decisions and be successful," he said. "I'm acting as a mentor and guide to let them plan missions given their knowledge," he said. "The goal is to have everyone gain tactical excellence and then to go on to gain understanding how each unique piece fits into the larger Air Expeditionary Wing picture."

Captain Carroll, who is participating in Red Flag for the first time, expects to use lessons learned here to help plan future missions and training scenarios.

"Just as our squadron members helped us with passing on their experiences, we will do the same when we go home," he said. "We have a better idea of what to expect while planning, while in the air, and when we come back to adjust."

Ultimately, the concept of training at a Red Flag exercise is to train to go into combat. For members of the 20th BS, they're training for their upcoming deployment to Andersen Air Base, Guam, where they will perform another global bomber deterrence mission for a four-month rotation beginning in September.