Nellis - Air Warrior


Message posted by zipper on May 23, 2001 at 12:35:47 PST:

From Nellis PA:

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. - People in southern Nevada will notice an increase
in flying during United States Air Force Weapons School Mission Employment Phase
May 31 to June 12.

Flying starts approximately at noon and 4 p.m. May 31; 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. June 4; 2 p.m.
June 8; and 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. June 12. In addition, the German air force will be flying
weapons school-type training 1:30 p.m. June 1, 5, 7 and 11.
The Weapons School launches will involve more than 50-85 aircraft taking off at
these times and about 40 aircraft during the German air force times.

Air Force aircraft include A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, B-1B Lancers, B-52 Stratofortresses,
F-15C Eagles, F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons and HH-60 Pavehawks.
In addition, E-3 Sentry (AWACS), RC-135 Rivet Joint, E-8C Joint Surveillance Target
Attack Radar System, EC-130H Compass Call, will fly.

Not a part of the school, yet participating in this phase, will be the KC-135 Stratotankers,
F-117A Nighthawks, B-2 Spirits, and various aircraft from Nellis' 422nd Test and Evaluation
Squadron. The U.S. Navy and Marines will also provide support with F/A-18 Hornets,
AV-8B Harriers, EA-6B Prowlers and AH-1 Cobra helicopters. The EA-6B units are
here also as part of a Navy Weapons School called Electronic Attack Weapons School.
A U.S. Army Patriot Battery Group from Fort Bliss, Texas, will be working out of the Nevada
Test and Training Range, where the missions are flown. An Air Force U-2 reconnaissance
aircraft will fly out of Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in support of this exercise.

"The theme of this phase is integration and how we will work together," said Maj. Keith
McBride, Weapons school project officer.

The phase will also utilize the new Nellis Combined Air Operations Center, which was
originally set up for the Joint Expeditionary Force Exercise in 2000. This center brings command
and control along with the concept of time-critical targeting into a central location to shorten
the response time necessary to attack targets.

The German air force will fly up to a dozen F-4 Phantom IIs and Tornado aircraft.
According to German air force Maj. Hartmut Bischoff, 20th Fighter Squadron, Holloman Air Force
Base, N.M., the German air force weapons school will support the Air Force weapons school
with flights during the U.S. times and then the weapons schools will support the Germans with
flights. The German weapons school at Holloman coincides with the Air Force weapons school.
It is also six months long and shares its mission employment phase with the school at Nellis.

The Weapons School is a graduate-level instructor course designed to provide realistic advance
training in weapons and tactics employment to military officers. The school provides advance
training to A-10, B-1, B-52, F-15C, F-15E, F-16C and HH-60 aircrew officers. In addition
it teaches officers assigned to operations, command and control, intelligence and space assets.
The mission employment phase brings the students and supporting units together for a realistic
final high-intensity combat exam before graduation. The ME phases are held every 6 months.
Graduates of the course are called weapons officers and considered by many to be the best
instructors in the Air Force. They will go back to their units and will be the experts on their systems.

For more information on the school go to http://www.nellis.af.mil/usafws


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