Green Flag-West 10-08 begins July 9 Published July 7, 2010 By Maj. Misty Sorensen 549th Combat Training Squadron NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Southern Nevada and Southern California residents will see increased military aircraft activity as the U.S. Air Force hosts exercise Green Flag-West 10-08 from July 9-23. Aircraft will depart from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., twice daily for missions at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. July 11-16 takeoffs are scheduled around 3 p.m. and again at 8 p.m. July 18-22, aircraft will depart around 7 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. with missions operations scheduled to run until midnight. The exercise flight path includes areas within Las Vegas valley, near Mount Charleston, and north of Pahrump in Nevada; as well the Mojave Desert near Fort Irwin in both Inyo and San Bernardino Counties in California. Conducted by the 549th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis and the 12th Combat Training Squadron at Fort Irwin, Green Flag-West provides a realistic air-land integration training environment for Airmen and Soldiers preparing to deploy in support of worldwide combat operations. "This is the premier training exercise preparing our Airmen for combat deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Lt. Col. Robert Chavez, commander of the 549th CTS. "Green Flag-West is where U.S. Air Force, joint, and coalition aircrews hone their air-land integration skills for success in our current operations." An unscripted battle exercise which provides units with training on a scale not available at or near their home stations, Green Flag-West replicates irregular warfare conditions currently found in Iraq and Afghanistan. Aircrews, working closely with joint terminal attack controllers, protect nearly 6,000 Soldiers and 400 armored and support vehicles from an opposing enemy force in a 1,000-square-mile combat environment. Units from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied nations regularly participate in Green Flag-West which is conducted 10 times annually. Aircraft and squadrons participating in Green Flag-West 10-08 include the 4th Fighter Squadron from Hill AFB, Utah, flying F-16s; the 964th AACS from Tinker AFB Okla., flying an E-3 AWACS; the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., and 196th Reconnaissance Squadron from the California Air National Guard, flying MQ-1 Predators; the 42nd Attack Squadron, also from Creech Air Force Base, flying MQ-9 Reapers; and the 319th Air Refueling Wing, Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., flying KC-135s.
