Photo By Staff Sgt. Michelle Brooks | Airmen from the 152nd Communications Flight and 152nd Operations Group participate in...... read more read more
Aircrew from the 192nd Airlift Squadron were joined by 152nd Communications Flight Airmen with communications assets to participate in the Mountain Flag exercise at Mammoth Yosemite Airport, Mammoth Lakes, California May 26, 2022.
Mountain Flag is a three-day exercise designed to help prepare Airmen for Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept–an Air Force concept which enables Airmen from a variety of career fields to conduct operations from distributed locations at higher and faster levels of complexity.
“We packed up everything we needed to exercise our mission planning and communication capabilities”, said Capt. Ryan Leigh, pilot with the 192nd Airlift Squadron. “We flew it down here and set it up as a proof of concept so that we can, in the future, operate at austere locations that have virtually no support.”
Throughout the exercise, the 192nd Airlift Squadron flew sorties with multiple C-130 Hercules aircraft. Crews were able to utilize the radar at Naval Air Station Fallon, Fallon’s Electronic Warfare Training Range as well as the Marine Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. to simulate operating in a contested environment. They were also able to work with Marines on the ground to practice on-call airdrop, a skill that will be essential in an ACE environment.
“Integrating with our neighbors in the area provides a unique training opportunity to develop the skills that ACE embodies,” said Maj. David Lynn, pilot with the 192nd Airlift Squadron and lead planner for the Mountain Flag Exercise. “This type of joint training ensures that not only are we prepared for future contingency operations, but that we understand how to integrate with the other services.”
The 152nd Communications Flight established high frequency ground to air communications at the airport for 24 sorties. Also, they established very high frequency radio communications with the airport’s frequency to receive communications.
The exercise provided Airmen experience working with communications equipment in a simulated expeditionary environment. In addition, Airmen were able to broaden their skill sets by performing duties outside of their Air Force Specialty Codes, a new priority for the Air Force. For example, communications Airmen marshaled a C-130 after landing during the exercise, a job typically done by a maintenance crew chief.
“This exercise is a great opportunity to join efforts within our own base,” said Tech. Sgt. David Almada, radio frequency transmissions systems operator with the 152nd Communications Flight. “In the past we have been on separate missions, such as MAFFS [Modular Airborne Firefighting System] or JISCC [Joint Incident Site Communications Capability], but the new ACE mentality is helping all the units work together.”
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2022 10:25 |
| Story ID: | 423443 |
| Location: | MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 103 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Mammoth’ exercise trains High Rollers for Agile Combat Employment, by SSgt Michelle Brooks, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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