Green Flag 10-5 in progress at Nellis, Fort Irwin Published March 17, 2010 Nellis Public Affairs Office NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Southern Nevada and Southern California residents will see increased military aircraft activity as the Air Force hosts exercise Green Flag-West 10-05 through March 26. Missions will be flown from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., twice daily with takeoffs around 2 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. with missions flown between Nellis and the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. Operations are 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, who recently assumed command of the 549th CTS. "Green Flag-West is where USAF, joint, and coalition aircrew 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 10-05 include the 55th Fighter Squadron from Shaw AFB, S.C., flying F-16s, the 128th Air Command and Control Squadron from Robins AFB, Ga. in the E-8 JSTARS, and the Royal Air Force's No. XIII Squadron from Marham, England, flying the GR-4 Tornado.
