Hungry Hungry Halibut, a high-end integration air war exercise, took place on Aug. 1 and 2, 2024, providing unique opportunities to integrate various forces into multilateral training from simulated forward operating bases throughout Alaska.
The 477th Fighter Group, the Air Force Reserve unit in Alaska, joined forces with the Alaska Air National Guard and active duty to create an exercise that included agile combat employment forward area refueling point (FARP) procedures, rapid beyond-line-of-sight communication methods and downed-pilot drills in the Gulf of Alaska.
“This was a joint effort,” said Master Sgt. Kyle Grolemund, 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron avionics flight chief. “Working and planning with our active-duty and Alaska [Air National] Guard counterparts allowed members to branch out from their normal day-to-day functions and broaden their knowledge for a future confrontation.”
HHH exercised new integrated capabilities to support operations and identify deficiencies in USINDOPACOM. To get back in the fight as quickly as possible, “practice as we fight” was the motto. Tasks such as loading weapons, swapping aircrew, gaining updated situation awareness and intelligence while receiving orders from command and control, protecting forces while on the ground in higher-threat areas, and refueling were completed.
“Many members performed Multi-Capable Airmen functions while assisting other career fields, such as launching, recovering, and debriefing aircraft,” Grolemund said. “Which will not be simply needed, but required, in a high-end, minimally manned fight.”
ACE is a key operating concept for how the U.S. Air Force will fight in a modern, contested environment. When applied correctly, ACE complicates the enemy’s targeting process, creates political and operational dilemmas for the enemy, and creates flexibility for friendly forces.
Realistic combat training is essential to the success of air and space operations.
"The significance of practicing exercises like HHH and events like FARP or downed-pilot drills puts operators out of their comfort zone and into a different mindset,” explained a 302nd Fighter Squadron F-22 Raptor pilot. “During these training events, the F-22 pilots are now the “supporting” asset instead of the “supported” asset, which, in the long term, will pay huge dividends to our community.”
Agile combat employment shifts the generation of airpower from large, centralized bases to networks of smaller, dispersed locations or cluster bases to increase survivability, complicate adversary planning, and ultimately gain the advantage.
“HHH prepares us for agile combat employment operations in a wartime scenario, such as the Pacific," said Grolemund. “Continuously practicing and streamlining our FARP operations will better prepare Airmen to be able to maneuver in and out of austere locations quickly and efficiently, with aircraft on the ground and out of the conflict for as minimal time as possible.”
A FARP provides refueling and rearming to rotary or fixed-wing assets in austere environments, extending the reach and capacity of forward air operations. During HHH, the C-17 Globemaster III and HC-130 Hercules provided fuel, munitions, and support equipment for the F-22 Raptors as they landed in remote locations throughout Alaska.
We provide combat air power and are the unrivaled leader in air superiority by request now and in the future," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Christopher Graham, 477th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron dedicated crew chief. “This exercise of HHH truly executed our mission and vision – exactly how the 477th Fighter Group operates and succeeds”.
| Date Taken: | 08.16.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2024 13:33 |
| Story ID: | 479045 |
| Location: | ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Hungry Hungry Halibut exercise sharpens air warfighting skills, by 1st Lt. Kaitlyn Lawton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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