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Weapons School begins mission employment exercise

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Travis Edwards
  • Nellis AFB Public Affairs
The United States Air Force Weapons School began its mission employment graduation exercise here Tuesday.

Approximately 80 aircraft from both the Air Force and Navy will participate in the nearly two-week-long event, held on the Nevada Test and Training Range.

Eighty-six students from 20 separate combat specialties will take part in the exercise.

The ME Phase includes six flying windows, called Vuls, showcasing bomber, transport, command and control, refueling, fighter, surveillance and many more aircraft, all joined with space operators, intelligence officers, special and air operations center personnel to test the newly acquired skills of the Weapons School students.

Each of the flying Vuls are meticulously managed by ME experts. These WS instructors are responsible for the scenario development, planning and execution of the Vul. "Their attention to detail will ensure the Vuls cradle to grave process is executed flawlessly and all training objectives and tactical problems are presented," said Maj. Scott Logan, USAF Weapons School mission employment project officer.

Despite the difficulty of the exercise, Major Logan is confident in the abilities of the students.

"We give the students all the tools they will need in the field," he said. "When they complete the exercise, they are the Combat Air Force experts in tactical integration with their own as well as other weapon systems."

Major Logan explained the ME Phase is the final stage of a five-and-a-half-month course, which trains students who are already instructors in their specialties.

All of the students have an average of 400 hours of classroom academics and 28 intense combat training missions under their belt, he said.

The course itself is a graduate school for the experienced combat Air Force operators.

The course exposes the students to a plethora of tactical problems, most of which mirror real-world situations our forces have faced in the most recent conflicts, he said.

The Weapons School is not the only organization at Nellis that supports the ME phase.

The Nellis Support Center, Red Flag, Combined Air Operations Center-Nellis, the Adversary Tactics Group and the 98th Range Wing are just a few, said Major Logan.

"The exercise would not be possible without the other organization's assistance."

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