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F-4s fly high at Nellis

Air Combat Command News

12/18/2002

By Airman 1st Class Martha Whipple 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) -- German and American aircrews recently returned from the bright lights and big sky of Las Vegas, after completing two weeks of training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Twenty-four Team Holloman members, 20 German air force and four U.S. Air Force aircrews and instructors finished six months of combat training, which started at Holloman. More than 25 Dyncorps contractors also deployed to maintain six F-4 Phantoms.

While deployed for the U.S. Air Force Weapons School's Mission Employment Phase, a mini-war exercise, forces use various tactics to attack or defend Nellis range targets, such as mock airfields, vehicle convoys, tanks, parked aircraft, bunkered defensive positions and missile sites. These targets are defended by simulated ground and air threats to give aircrews realistic combat training.

The mission commander puts together strike packages, including bombers, fighters, reconnaissance and air refueling tankers, to create a realistic war-like environment. Bombers drop live bombs on the targets, so the fighters have to get in and get out.

The Blue team, or friendlies, flies over the 1,500 square-mile range to accomplish a mission while the Red team, professional adversaries flying F-16 Fighting Falcons dolled up as MiGs, protect and defend simulated targets.

"The pilots have to push through to accomplish each mission," said Maj. Sid Mayeux, a 20th Fighter Squadron operations officer. "Real bombs are hitting the ground, so pilots have to react and make decisions in the air to accomplish their mission."

This training prepares aircrews for the ultimate challenge -- war. The mission employment phase is the final training phase of the weapons school.

"The Weapons School is like the 'PhD' in fighter tactics," Major Mayeux said. "Once aircrews graduate from this training, they are weapons experts. They go back to their units in Germany as weapons officers. This training prepares our pilots for the future. We have to be ready at a moment's notice, and this training enhances our readiness."

The training is a combination of academics, simulations and flying missions, said Capt. Rupert Ficker-Reissing, a German air force instructor.

According to German air force Capt. Torsten Stulp, a weapons school student, this is the best training he's had in his 10 years in the military.

"It's a good experience to practice here before having to negotiate a real-world war," he said. "It's preparation and additional training that is necessary to maintain readiness."

There is no finer training ground than the Nellis range, said Major Mayeux.

"These last two weeks cap six months of intense tactical training, culminating in one final evening known as 'patch night,'" Major Mayeux said. "It's the last night of training here when the students receive the coveted 'target arm' patch, the symbol of the fighter weapons instructor, a graduate of the (German air force/U.S. Air Force) Weapons School."

The German Air Force Flying Training Center has been the guest of the U.S. Air Force since 1996 (when it was called German Air Force Tactical Training Center) at Holloman AFB.

The purpose of the GAF/FTC is to instruct German pilots in several training phases on the Phantom and the Tornado aeronautical weapon systems. The Holloman AFB and White Sands Missile Range areas offer flight instructors the optimal weather conditions for training.

More than 35 Tornado aircraft are stationed at Holloman AFB. Six hundred members of the German air force (Bundesluftwaffe) and German navy (Bundesmarine) along with 80 civilian employees, currently work at the FTC to properly run training and administration.