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Show April 23, 1992 A crew chief, pilot and weapons loading crew ready an F-1- 6 for battle in Hilltop Times 7 Photos by Copt. Jennifer Fay the recent exercise. ',1 9 ,V - 4' V- - if 1 From left, A1C Eric Davis, A1C Stephen Baran, SrA. Michael Peterson and SSgt. Truman Scar- borough go over their checklists one more time. Working in chemical gear is part of Battle Week. (0) (o) si Members of the 388th Fighter Wing dressed in their flak vests, helmets and chemical warfare suits April 0 to do battle Battle Week and fine tune their warfighting skills. Officially called Exercise Rainbow 92-5- , the exercise's scenario called for conditions simulating combat operations at a location far from home base Hill. The exercise was designed to test the ability of wing members to get the unit's 6 Fighting Falcons ready for battle, to fly simulated combat missions against enemy aircraft, and to recover and operate a base after an attack, sometimes in a chemical warfare environment. "We needed this Battle Week," said Col. Michael Navarro, 338th FW com F-1- 5s? t. ,.a!... notes his vital statisSSgt. Mike Whitney simulates an injury while SSgt. Brian Robbins (left) tics. TSgt. Timothy Stott and MSgt. George Izzi treat Whitney's simulated broken arm. n if"! tN Pr mander. The colonel said it has been more than a year since his unit returned from Operation Desert Storm and more than six months since its last like this. csn bombing missions, aircrews scrambled to meet incoming enemy aircraft or flew missions to provide close air sup fl o o D ED port to other aircraft, much ex-ierci- se "Even though many are combat tested and proven, it's been a long time since we generated and flew combat missions," he said. "So, naturally some of our warfighting skills were a little rusty. This exercise was the time to find those weak areas and correct them." The 388th flew about 160 sorties a day. In addition to flying simulated "f!1 j , like they did in the Persian Gulf. "Exercises such as this test the skills of the entire wing," Navarro said. "From pilots to crew chiefs to specialists in support fields, Battle Week gives us all a taste of what it's like to operate in a wartime environment." Other units from the Ogden Air Logistics Center and the 2849th Air Base Group joined the 388th in the ex-- 1 ercise, and aircraft from other bases also participated by refueling the fighters in flight, making simulated attacks on the airfield and flying as adversaries against 388th pilots. The flying missions were conducted on the Utah Test and Training Range, the wing's primary training area. The aircraft from other bases operated from their home stations, but aircraft from four OV-1AFB, Ariz., operated from s served as airborne Hill. The forward air controllers at the UTTR during some of the missions flown. Ground burst simulators and smoke canisters were used to simulate explosions in facilities that had been hit by enemy aircraft and on the flight line to add a hint of realism to the exercise. Smoke was also used to simulate various chemical agents. The 388th FW conducts two to three Battle Week exercises a year to enhance its warfighting proficiency and to train newcomers in combat Davis-Montha- n 0 OV-lO- |