Pushed to limit: Red Flag participants leave prepped for success Published Feb. 13, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Mikaley Towle 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- After 19 days of combat training exercises pushing air, ground, space and cyberspace operators of the U.S. air forces and its allies to their limits, Red Flag 15-1 concluded here Feb. 13. During Red Flag 15-1, U.S. military units from bases in the U.S. and around the world joined forces with the Royal Australian air force and the Royal Air Force as a 'Blue' force to engage in a simulated 'war' against Nellis' 57th Adversary Tactics Group, known as the 'Red' force. "Nowhere else will you find such a well-trained team dedicated purely to replicating the best of the threats, challenges and issues we may face in combat operations," said Col. Brian Dudas, Air Expeditionary Wing commander for the final week of Red Flag 15-1. "When our aircrews, maintainers, cyber operators, air operations center and support personnel leave this exercise, they will all have been pushed to their own limits. They will understand just how crucial their own performance and success is to the success of the entire mission." The 57th ATG simulates threats to give participating air and ground crews the most realistic combat experience possible. They are specially trained to replicate the tactics and techniques of potential adversaries and provide a scalable threat presentation to Blue forces, which aids in achieving the desired learning outcome for each daily mission. "By the time, especially, a very young wingman gets to fly across the (Nevada Test and Training Range), it is as difficult a fight as they've ever seen," said Col. Jeff Weed, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander. "Not only in terms of numbers of enemies, but in terms of Blue (forces) participants. They never do this at home. In a typical day, 66 Blue airplanes all (take) off at relatively the same time to go out and fight against a larger number of adversaries than they're used to fighting." Red Flag exercises pit participants in highly contested environments that test every aspect of their warfighting capabilities. These exercises also afford the opportunity for the U.S. Air Force to work cohesively with sister services as well as allies. "In today's world, the likelihood of going to combat without our sister services, allies and partners is almost none," said Dudas, the 48th Fighter Wing vice commander, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. "Therefore, we want to maximize our opportunities to push our own limits alongside those warriors with whom we will fight when called upon." The exercise is part of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis Air Force Base and on the Nevada Test and Training Range by organizations assigned to the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center. Born in 1975 as the Air Force's response to pilots' declining kill-to-death ratio from the Korean Conflict to the Vietnam War, Red Flag training has evolved to include all spectrums of warfare. Red Flag takes place three to four times each year with Red Flag 15-2 scheduled to take place March 2 through 15. To find out when future exercises will take place, click here.
