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Show Airmen Defending our Nation at Home and Abroad Twice Monthly Thursday, August 25, 2005 ntry Liberty or Death! 388th Fighter Wing supplement to the Hilltop Times No rest for the 388th Fighter Wing: TDY units support Red Flag, Combat Archer, F/A-22 and USAF Weapons School 388th Fighter Wing spouses host fundraiser The spouses of the 388th Fighter Wing will host the annual Round Up Charity fundraiser Friday, Sept. 23, at 5:30 p. m. at Club Hill. The night's event will feature mock casino games including Blackjack, Poker and Craps; all in accordance with Utah Law. There will also be music and both a live and silent auction. Proceeds benefit Hearts Apart, Operation Warmheart, Airman Against Drunk Driving, Junior Enlisted Association, Wing Recognition programs and Flightline Ministries. The event is open to all military and civilian identification card holders and all ranks. You must be 21 to attend. There will be an optional dinner available in the Wasatch Room of Club Hill. Advanced purchase tickets are $5 and will be $7 at the door. For ticket information contact Lori Colwell at 5251811 or email Loricolwell2004@yahoo.com . To make a donation to the live or silent auction, please contact Lisa Judge at 4755096 or email lisajudge63@hotmail.com Free tickets for 388th Airmen The 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs office has free tickets and vouchers for 388th Airmen as part of the Hill Air Force Base Appreciation Night at Weber State University. Airmen can see Weber State vs. Western State Saturday, Sept. 3, at 5:30 p.m. in Stewart Stadium. Fireworks are scheduled after the game. AFPC notifies Airmen of criminal activity RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - The Air Force is notifying more than 33,000 Airmen that a security breach has occurred in the online Assignment Management System. The notification comes after Air Force Personnel Center officials alerted Air Force and federal investigators to unusually high activity on a single user's AMS account in June. AMS, an online program used for assignment preferences and career management, contains career information on officers and enlisted members as well as some personal information like birth dates and social security numbers, according to Col. Lee Hall, director of assignments at AFPC. A malicious user accessed approximately half of the officer force's individual information while only a handful of noncommissioned officers ' were affected, according to Lt. Col. John Clarke, AFPC's deputy director of Personnel Data Systems. Any Airman who believes he or she has become a victim of identity theft, should contact the local base OSI and legal office. By Staff Sgt. Shane Sharp 388th Fighter Wing Public Affairs lt has been nearly a month since the majority of the 388th Fighter Wing left for temporary duty while the runway is repaired here. Since then, the 4th and 421st Fighter Squadrons have been hard at work under the Las Vegas sun and the 34th FS has been staying busy in the Florida humidity. When the 4th FS arrived at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., July 28, they began flying sorties in direct support of the F/A-22 Raptor operational test and evaluation program as well as the USAF Weapons School. According to Lt. Col. Peter Gcrsten, 4th FS comCourtesy photo A 388th Fighter Wing F-16 Fighting Falcon taxis on the flightline at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. 388th FW units are TDY while the runmander, flying against the Raptor is a humbling experi- way is closed here for reconstruction. The 4th Fighter Squadron and the 421 st FS are at Nellis and the 34th FS is at Tyndall. The units should return home in early September once the runway construction is complete. ence. "The airplane is doing sive to witness their sacrifice and dedication." "The 34th FS is also at Tyndall for Combat Archer to very well against us," said the commander. "I can truly The report from the 421 st FS is much the same. They employ air-to-air missiles against sub-scale drones and say it's been an eye-watering experience to fly against also arrived at Nellis AFB July 28. Since then, they have full-scale F-4 drones and PGU-27 bullets against a this amazing aircraft." already participated in two weeks of Red Flag and towed banner," said Lt. Col. David Van der Veer, 34th While being on the receiving end of Raptor operaUSAF Weapons School support and are now engaged in FS commander. "This Combat Archer program is part of tional testing may put the 4th FS pilots in the role of support of F/A-22 Raptor OT&E. According to the the Weapons System Evaluation Program for Air permanent underdog, they are happy to do it. 421st FS B-Flight commander, Maj. Jason Smith, it has Combat Command to evaluate the entire weapon to "All of our pilots are very excited to be part of the employment process. This includes weapon loading, given pilots some valuable training in realistic situaOT&E of the F/A-22," said Colonel Gersten. "It is an aircraft interface and pilot interface during the actual tions. • honor to fly against our Air Force's most advanced firing." "We have participated in large force employment, fighter. It's an amazing platform, like no other I've seen forward, air controller airborne and close air support Those kinds of missions rely heavily on maintainers before." missions,1' said Major Smith, "Our people have done an in order to run smoothly. That's where the 34th Aircraft Between the OT&E sorties and flying air combat outstanding job dealing with Maintenance unit comes in. maneuvers and tactical intercept missions against the steep learning curve here "The 34th Aircraft tii Weapons School students, the 4th FS hasn't had much in the Red Flag environment." Maintenance Unit has supportfree time to taste the Las Vegas night life. "Something as simple as ed the 34th FS with outstanding "We have been absolutely busy working with 16young guys going to a tanker day-to-day support during hour flying windows/' said Colonel Gersten. "The last and then pushing to meet a extreme weather including rain couple of weeks a normal day would start with a 4 a.m. time on target presents some and thunderstorms as well as brief and end about 9 p.m. Now that Red Flag has real pressure. That kind of high temperatures,11 said begun, our day starts about 11 a.m. and ends about 3 pressure is something you Colonel Van der Veer. a.m." can't get at home station," he Outstanding support doesn't The 388th Fighter Wing was selected as the lead added. . happen without overcoming wing for what is being called the largest fixed-wing Red "We have also expended a some obstacles. Flag in history with a total of 123 aircraft participating. great deal of ordnance which "We came here expecting a With more than 20 aircraft and 550 personnel, the 388th has given us invaluable trainfairly simple flying schedule FW is ready to shoulder the role of lead wing. While ing, especially for those who with the standard two goes a being the lead wing at Red Flag is a lot of responsibili- Maj. Jason Smith haven't done it before," said day. What we found when we 421st FS B-Flight commander ty, it is also a great training opportunity. the Major. got here was a flying schedule "Red Flag is outstanding training because the operaThe 421st FS pilots also ==^=^=^= =^^=^=^= |th four goes a day," said Capt. W tions and maintenance units work together as one unit, flew with members of the Joshua Cinq-Mars, 34th AMU just like they do when they deploy as part of an [Air and Royal Saudi Air Force during Red Flag, giving them a officer in charge. "What that meant for us was a greater Space Expeditionary Force] rotation," said Colonel unique international experience as well. requirement for efficiency and less room for error. Our Gersten. "We are right on schedule with Gen. Jumper's "It was a very interesting cultural experience to be maintainers stepped up and have maintained these airvision with regards to the AEF plan. This is the prepaflying with the Saudis in a combined force. Two of the craft like you wouldn't believe." ration phase, we will then return home to an ORE/OR1 Saudi pilots were from the royal family," said Major Keeping the aircraft running smoothly while the unit [Operational Readiness Exercise/Inspection] and then Smith. is away from home has also presented some unique deploy." With their period of Red Flag over, Major Smith said challenges. According to Colonel Gersten, the maintenance perthe 421st will be flying missions in support of F/A-22 "Aircraft act different in different climates. We have sonnel have more than carried their weight during the Raptor OT&E until they return home in September. had to make adjustments here because of the humidity TDY , While the 4th FS and 421st FS arc hard at work in and the parts support is limited, which requires more "I can't tell you how pleased I've been with our Nevada the 34th Fighter Squadron at Tyndall AFB, Fla., planning to be efficient," said Captain Cinq-Mars. maintenance support," he said. "With temperatures in is equally engaged in valuable missions. Since their For Airman 1st Class Thomas Meyer, a 34th AMU excess of 115 degrees, these great Airmen have stepped arrival July 28, the squadron has been flying "red air" avionics technician, this is his first taste of TDY life up to the plate keeping our planes running. It's impressupport for the F/A-22 Raptor and F-15C squadrons. which has proven to be a little different than life at home station. "You don't have as much time to get things done and you don't have as much equipment so sometimes you have to make do," said Airman Meyer. The challenging environment has been good training for Airman Meyer and the 34th FS as a whole. "I think this TDY is good practice for deployment," said Airman Meyer. "You become more dependent on people you work with, not just in your own shop, but you become a lot more involved with other shops. There's a lot of teamwork. Everyone does what it takes to get the mission done." According to the wing commander, teamwork and mission accomplishment is what the 388th FW is all about. "I'm proud of all of our units at their respective locations. They are doing an outstanding job representing the 388th," said Col. Robert Beletic, 388th FW commander. "They have stepped up to the challenge, whether it's flying against the F/A-22 Raptor, engaging in Combat Archer, or filling the lead wing role at Red Flag. They arc demonstrating the kind of dedication and excellence that this fighter wing and all of Map courtesy of Air Force Print News Units from Hill AFB, Utah are TDY to Nellis AFB, Nev., and Tyndall AFB, Fla. Team Hill represent." 'It was a very interesting cultural experience to be flying with the Saudis in a combined force. Two of the Saudi pilots were from the royal family." |