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Show June 27, 1996 Page3A Fighter Country One of the 4th Fighter Squadron's 320 sorties takes off in front of the Wasatch Mountains. fly into Fuujins Fightin' J.C By SSgt Editor, Woodring Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, which manufactures the 6. "And, to the best of my knowledge, no other unit or aircraft has ever demonstrated this capability." at Although other units have flown a higher rate per day, it has only been for a one-da- y period. No unit has ever mantained such a high sortie rate for three consecutive days. "This has been an outstanding demopstra-tio- n of the Air Force's capability,'' said Col Mike Brake, 388th Fighter Wing vice commander. "The 4th Fighter Squadron can be very proud of their accomplishment They have proven the 388th can carry out an intense level of operations successfully." Fuujin Challenge sent the 4th FS's aircraft flying combat air patrols over the Utah Test and Training Range from sunrise to sunset combat air patrol each day. ; Each one-hodefended different areas of the range from enemy aircraft. The "enemy" for the exercise came in several forms. Fourth FS pilots flew missions against Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft from 11 bases throughout the country. ft The training against dissimilar aircraft was what we were looking for," said CapL i Brian Silkey, project officer for the Fuujin Challenge where each of the unit's pilots flew between two and four sorties a day. "It was a great opportunity to get lots of flying tims and make us better at what we do." The defending Fuujins were very successful, according to their pilots. s "All of our pilots returned with smiles on their faces," said CapL Scott Martin, 4th FS F-- 16 history F-1- Fighter Country The Fightin Fuujins of die 4th Fighter Squadron made aviation history June 13, unit flew 320 daylight when the sorties during a three-da- y surge called Fuujin Challenge. w "Our goal was to fly 100 sorties a day for three days agamst any untt that wanted to challenge us," said Lt. Col. Les Long, 4th FS commander. "When the last day arrived, we knew we could do even better." ; And, they did. After meeting their flying goal on the first two days exactly, the Fuujins came back on day three and flew 120 sorties. On a normal day, the squadron flies 25 sorties. "No other unit in the world has ever flown this number of sorties period,' said Mike Nipduring a three-da- y per, manager. Business Development at F-- 16 F-1-6s Ufi ; Checking out the cockpit, SSgt Ronald Wheeler, 4th FS crew chief, prepares for the arrival of a pilot ur, t. pilot The busy days of the exercise meant overtime for the Fuujin rnaintainers, too. shifts "Even though we worked and it was hot. cur rnaintainers were outstanding," said CMSgL Bill Steele, 4th FS maintenance superintendent "We are ready to do the job and do it safely whenever we're called 12-ho- ur upon." CapL Brian Neal, returns from one sorties. of the history-makin- g After the 320th aircraft landed safely, the 4th FS not only set precedence in the number of sorties flown, everyone received great training, according to Silkey. Now that the standard has been set the Fuujins should be proud, according to Brake. The men and women of the 4th Fighter Squadron and the other units that supported them, have a lot to be proud of." said Brake. They have again proven why we are the best fighter unit in the world." I 1 Jason Andersen, 421st FS crew chief, prepares to fuel a 4th Fighter Squadron's jet during the Fuujin SrA. Challenge. |