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Show J J J Twice Monthly 1 i ; j 388th Fighter Wing supplement to the Hilltop Times Thursday, May 20,1999 Flag exercise Y2GC at Hoi Air C(DQTidlyecy LS) By Capt. James R.Wilson 388th FW Public Affairs Office Air Combat Command conducted operational assessments at Hill Air Force Base further demonstrating its capability to project airpower in the Year 2000. The assessment, which began May 10 and is scheduled to conclude Friday, was held in conjunction with the Weapons System Evaluation Program, known as Combat Hammer. Combat Hammer served as the first of three major portions of the Y2K Flag exercise where mission critical systems, or those expected to be used in a commajor theater war, were evaluated to ensure unit-levpliance. "The Y2K Flag exercise offers further proof that all of our weapons systems are fully certified to operate in a Y2K environment," said Lt. Col. P.J. Avella, ACC Y2K operational assessnd el ment manager. "The results from this phase demonstrates the Air Force will be fully capable of performing its full range of critical and essential missions well into the new millennium." The exercise involved a variety of platforms includF-- 1 1 7s from Holloman AFB, N.M., F-- 1 5Cs from Nellis ing and from Mountain Home AFB, Nev., B-- ls Ellsworth from from AFB, S.D., AFB, Idaho, Barksdale AFB, La., from Pope AFB, N.C., and from the Ft. Smith, Ark., Air National Guard unit. k exercise, fighter and bomber Throughout the sorties each day dropaircraft flew an average of 20-2- 5 munitions to include AGM-8- 8 ping a variety of AGM-65 Maverick missiles and other HARM missiles, d munitions. Exercise planners devised simulated combat missions for the participating aircrews to ensure the highest degree of accuracy in the Y2K evaluation. "One of the primary objectives at Hill was to evaluate interoperability between various platforms in a joint envi- - Photo by Senior Master Es B-5- 2s A-1- F-1- 6s 0s Sgt. Derek Harris An AGM-8- 8 HARM missile leaves the rail of an from the 366th Wing, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, before mission was part of theY2K Flag operational on Test its and Utah the impacting Training Range. This live-fir- e target assessments being conducted in conjunction with the Weapons System Evaluation Program. CJ nd two-wee- nd laser-guide- ronment to ensure systems are working together as they should," said Colonel Avella. "Having already tested individual systems, we are now assessing force packaging in an operational environment." Ongoing NATO operations in the Balkans have forced Y2K planners to replace previously scheduled assets on a few occasions already. However, other CONUS-base- d platfill void when to been have the forms possible. quick real-worremain commit units operations, "Despite ld ted to participating and helping us achieve our overall objective," said Colonel Avella. "Fortunately, we haven't had that many issues concerning manpower which validates the importance the Air Force has placed on Y2K compliance." The success of the exercise at Hill was due, in large part, to the existing infrastructure and capabilities of the Utah Test and Training Range and enhanced by the sup- - See Y2K Page C Air Combat Command performs Y2K testing on critical assets By Staff Sgt. Carole Pfeiffer 53rd Wing Public Affairs HILLAIR FORCE BASE, Utah In the diligent effort to ensure its weapons systems are ready for operations in the year 2000, Air Combat Command is in the process of testing all its aircraft, munitions and systems with . r ..V- m V air-to-a- ating the F-- 5C, F-- 1 5E, F-- 1 6, F-- 1 aircraft and ground-base- d 1 1 7, B-- 1 , B-5- 2 combat and 0 control teams. These aircraft and personnel A-1- Adverfcementscw Photo by Staff Sgt. Carole Pfeiffer Staff Sgt. Steve Harris, radar technician, left, and Tech Sgt.Shaun Ruark, assistant NCOIC of radar maintenance, check the radar diagnostics in theTPS-7- 5 radar van that is part of the Mobile GroundTactical Air Control System deployed toWendover.Utah.in support of Y2K Flag. Both sergeants are assigned to the 729th Air Control Squadron here. are performing live-fir- e munitions. ...... ' n Graduation Fourteen senior airmen from the 388th Fighter Wing graduated School Monday. The John L, Levitow award winner was Gordon Evarts, 421st Fighter Squadron and the Academic Acheivment winner was Jener Tiongson, 388th Logistics Support Squadron. Other graduates were: Daniel Bradley, 4th FS; Chris Marsh, Jason McCoy, and Jeff Speer, 34th FS; Jeremy Raymond and Robert Schmuck, 42 1 st FS; Noemi Sison,' 729th Air Control Squadron; Scott Craker, Elton Hawkins, Newly Kaufman, and Erick Wertz, 388th Maintenance Squadron; and Roy Wertz, 388th LSS. nd During the same time period, another Y2K ir WSEP, Flag test is going on at the known as Combat Archer, at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. A third Y2K Flag event is planned for June at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in conjunction with the USAF Weapons School's mission employment exercises. At Hill Air Force Base, the team is evalu- ..... from the Airmen Leadership 1 a date criticality. As one of the Air Force's primary operational test agencies, the 53rd Wing from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., is coordinating this endeavor by conducting multiple exercises collectively called Y2K Flag. To save valuable defense dollars, the Y2K Flag adds year 2000 tests into important training exercises that were already planned. This eliminates the need for separate tests while providing operational realism to these tests. One of these tests began here May 10 and runs through Friday in conjunction with the Weapons System Evaluation Program, known as Combat Hammer. i tests of nd The Y2K tests are performed in a three- phase "sensor to shooter" process which follows the flow of a plan of action from the command and control element, which selects See TESTING Page C Everythin9 advertised is available wittotf regard to race, color Right Start Beginning in July, Right Start will be held on the first Thursday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon. For more information, contact the 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office at 777-320- 0. |