Green Flag-West 10-3 begins Jan. 11 Published Jan. 8, 2010 By Senior Airman Ryan Whitney Nellis Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Southern Nevada and Southern California residents will see increased military aircraft activity as the Air Force begins Green Flag-West 10-03, Monday, Jan. 11. Missions will be flown between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. beginning Jan. 11 to Jan. 31, and will take place at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The exercise's flight path includes areas within the Las Vegas valley to Nellis and the NTC, near Mount Charleston, and north of Pahrump, Nev., and the Mojave Desert in both Inyo and San Bernadino Counties in California. Conducted by the 549th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis, and the 12th Combat Training Squadron at Fort Irwin, Calif., Green Flag-West provides a realistic close air support training environment for Airmen and Soldiers preparing to deploy in support of combat operations in Southwest Asia. Green Flag exercises provide units with training on a scale not available at or near home stations. During this exercise, current irregular warfare conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan are replicated. Aircrews will work closely with Army, Navy, and Marine Corps members embedded with the Canadian Task Force 1-10 to protect nearly 6,000 Soldiers and 400 armored and support vehicles from opposing enemy forces in a 1,000 square-mile area. Units from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied nations regularly participate in Green Flag-West, which takes place 10 times annually. Participants in Green Flag-West 10-03 include U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from the 492nd Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom; Canadian CF-18s from Royal Canadian Air Force Station Bagotville, Canada; and Canadian Alpha Jets operating from Victorville, Calif. These units will be supporting the Canadian Task Force 1-10 and other ground units from across the country during the nearly three week exercise.
