Photo By Micah Garbarino | Two maintainers from the 34th Fighter Generation Squadron walk across the tarmac at...... read more read more
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SANTA MARIA, Calif. – F-35A Lighting II maintainers from the 388th Fighter Wing are forward deployed here, from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., generating sorties for Bamboo Eagle 24-3, and the exercise is providing a learning opportunity for the entire squadron.
During Bamboo Eagle, the 34th Fighter Squadron and 34th Fighter Generation Squadron are functioning as a force element at a “spoke location,” providing fifth-generation airpower to a larger force operating in the eastern Pacific region. The spoke locations are smaller than an airbase, a cluster of tents, a small footprint of equipment and personnel.
Living and working in field conditions under the constant threat of attack, is not completely unfamiliar to the 34th FGS Airmen. They have been training for it back home at Hill Air Force Base, Utah as part of the wing’s efforts to create Mission Ready Airmen.
In April, the squadron conducted the first large scale, local agile combat employment exercise, in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.
“We’ve been getting them trained, organized and equipped for this. Getting them out here gets them out of their comfort zones.” said Chief Master Sgt. Justin Wolfe, 34th Fighter Generation Squadron senior enlisted leader. “This is getting them reps, building that proficiency and testing their capabilities.”
The initial stages of any major conflict would be chaos, and Wolfe said the initial days of an exercise are the same, filled with challenges and obstacles to overcome – working away from home station without all the support of an entire maintenance group.
“It’s a valuable experiment for us to see how lean we can get. How small we can get our footprint and still get the job done. But that brings challenges and forces us to adapt,” Wolfe said. “It’s building more effective warfighters who have critical thinking skills and know that no matter what, job No.1 is getting that aircraft off the ground and into the fight.”
For the Airmen, the mission ready mindset is taking hold.
“I like being able to be part of the mission, learning other skills to help get the job done. This exercise is helping with that,” said Senior Airman Zachary Gamero, a tactical aircraft maintenance specialist. “Even after this first shift, I’m already learning things. We find a challenge and we adapt. They throw stuff at us until we fail, but we aren’t afraid to fail. That’s how we learn and that is what sets us apart from our adversaries.”
Aside from the intensity and challenge of the mission, the living conditions provide another opportunity for Airmen to shift their mindset from comfort to combat.
“This is as close as we can get without actual bullets or missiles flying at us,” Wolfe said.
The dirt and dust, the MREs and outhouses, the cots and tents – none of it is like being back home, but all of it is building Mission Ready Airmen.
“Yeah, we’re living together in tents, but they’ve been taking care of us,” Gamero said. “We’ve actually got hot showers, laundry, and the food is pretty good. But, that’s not even really in our minds. You kind of push it aside because you’re worried about the mission, the next shift, the next day.”
| Date Taken: | 08.08.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.09.2024 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 478209 |
| Location: | SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | HILL AIR FORCE BASE, UTAH, US |
| Web Views: | 179 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Bamboo Eagle’s simulated combat environment creating Mission Ready Airmen, by Micah Garbarino, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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