Photo By Jerry Foltz | 78th Security Forces Squadron defenders from Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, maintain...... read more read more
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — Forty members from the 461st Air Control Wing and13 members from the 78th Security Forces Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, recently participated in Red Flag 25-1, a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Jan. 14 to Feb. 8, 2025.
Since 1975, Red Flag has provided warfighters with realistic training, helping them hone the technical skills and mental fortitude needed to combat ever-increasingly sophisticated adversaries. The exercise focuses on overcoming the complexities of strategic competition by integrating air, space and cyber capabilities to counter advanced threats in contested and degraded environments.
During the exercise, 78th SFS Master Sgt. Marcus McCombs, who served as Red Flag Operations superintendent, validated objectives such as sustaining a lean loadout, evaluating squad leaders' ability to operate in a joint environment, and employing joint resources and equipment.
"This was a big learning experience for me as it was my first time running the show during the exercise," McCombs said.
Blue Force security force team members, consisting of friendly units, engaged hostile Red Force team members in realistic combat situations. The scenario was designed to maximize combat readiness, capability and survivability of participating units, providing realistic, multi-domain kinetic training in a combined air, ground, space and electronic threat environment.
Undertaking a 24-hour operational cycle, security force members safeguarded vital resources from potential threats, dug in-battle positions, established machine gun nests in the desert, and protected personnel and assets from indirect fire and mortar threats. These efforts ensured a secure operational environment that allowed participants to focus on training objectives without significant disruption.
"Being able to bring teams together from all 11 different squadrons allowed us to modernize the way we fight when we couple that with the air defense and the fighter pilots," McCombs said.
The 78th SFS, working with Defenders from the 316th Security Forces Group from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, the 926th SFS from Nellis AFB, Nevada, and the 375th SFS from Scott AFB, Illinois, contributed to the development of a more lethal and effective joint force.
"This exercise opened the door for us to get an understanding of what they do. And secondly, it allows us to shift our metrics and just how we operate in theater," McComb said.
At the 461st Air Control Wing, 32 members from the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron, and eight members from the 461st Air Control Network Squadron and 53rd Combat Airfield Operations Squadron, supported combat airfield operations by monitoring real-time radar surveillance, airspace deconfliction, air-refueling positioning and tactical reconnaissance.
The 461st ACW members integrated their combat and control systems and tactics not only with U.S. Air Force assets, but with joint and coalition allied partners, including the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force.
"Red Flag gives our unit valuable hands-on experience implementing command and control in a realistic and high-pressure environment," said Lt. Col. Joshua Gulbranson, 728th BMCS commander.
The annual exercise covered more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land on the Nevada Test and Training Range. It offered realistic air-combat training for military pilots and other flight crew members from the U.S. and allied countries, while also incorporating security forces integration to assess and validate air base defense tactics, techniques and procedures in support of aerial operations.
"This exercise helped us improve decision-making, validated our ability to coordinate with joint and allied partners, identify and close any gaps in communications and technology, and manage air operations under realistic combat conditions," Gulbranson said. "Our Airmen left Red Flag with a sharpened ability to execute the mission effectively, ensuring we are ready to support operations anytime, anywhere."
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2025 10:29 |
| Story ID: | 491208 |
| Location: | NEVADA, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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