Demonstrating Future Warfighting Capabilities
by U.S. Air Force Capt. Benjamin Hughes 175th WG - Maryland Air National Guard July 2,
2022
Approximately 170 Airmen assigned to the
175th Wing, Maryland Air National Guard, and ten A-10 Thunderbolt II
aircraft that deployed to Europe May 4-31, 2022 to support Exercises
Swift Response and Defender Europe 22.
The Maryland A-10s,
are assigned to the 104th Fighter Squadron, flew more than 240
sorties and operated in 10 countries throughout Europe to execute
Agile Combat Employment (ACE), which is the Air Force concept of
quickly mobilizing and deploying aircraft, personnel, and equipment
across a theater of operations to project combat power anytime,
anywhere.
Nine A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 104th Fighter Squadron, Maryland Air National Guard, sit on the flightline at Lielvārde Air Base, located in the Vidzeme region of Latvia on May 14, 2022, for agile combat employment training during DEFENDER-Europe 22. DEFENDER-Europe 22 demonstrates U.S. Army Europe and Africa's ability to conduct large scale ground combat operations across multiple theatres in support of NATO and the National Defense Strategy. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Chris Schepers)
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“To demonstrate the capabilities of the
175th Wing to NATO allies and partners, our objectives were to
enable our Airmen, execute ACE operations, and integrate joint live
fires,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Griffin, an A-10 pilot and the project
officer for the exercises. “To take this concept from paper and
bring it to reality is quite an amazing accomplishment for all of
our Airmen involved.”
These future warfighting concepts
exercises decentralized operational decision-making and distributed
military operations in austere environments, said Griffin.
Principles of ACE focus on mission planning, launching, recovering
and maintaining aircraft from a hub-and-spoke arrangement with
allies and partners.
For the
first two weeks of supporting Swift Response, the Maryland Air
National Guard demonstrated a flexible force projection model split
by over 1,700 miles with simultaneous operations in Norway and North
Macedonia. Four A-10s and approximately 50 Airmen operated out of
Andoya Air Base in northern Norway, which is within the Arctic
Circle and still had snow and freezing rain.
At the same
time, six A-10s and approximately 60 Airmen conducted operations
from a warmer environment at Ohrid Airport in North Macedonia. From
both locations the A-10s facilitated joint forcible entries (JFEs)
by paratroopers into Scandinavian, Baltic, Balkan, and Black Sea
regions with forward air control and close air support for the U.S.
and partner ground forces.
“We had to be creative, think
outside the box, and we had to operate in a different manner that
kept our aircraft ready, reliable, and relevant,” said U.S. Air
Force Maj. Mark Rutt, commander of the 175th Aircraft Maintenance
Squadron. “When we do this, our Airmen get a lot of extra training.
With the different climate and heavy operational tempo, they see
aircraft breakdowns they don’t normally see in a home environment,
so they needed to find a way to get the parts to keep the aircraft
mission ready and ready for success.”
Halfway through the
month, the A-10s and all the personnel and equipment packed up and
relocated to the Baltics to support Defender Europe. Approximately
another 60 Airmen joined the exercise in Latvia. After all ten A-10s
consolidated in Lielvarde Air Base in Latvia, split operations began
again.
Three A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 104th Fighter Squadron, Maryland Air National Guard,
in flight and on the runway at Lielvārde Air Base, located in the Vidzeme region of Latvia
on May 14, 2022, for agile combat employment training during DEFENDER-Europe 22.
(Image created by USA Patriotism! from U.S. Air National
Guard photos by Master Sgt. Chris Schepers.)
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Six A-10s remained at Lielvarde AB and conducted
operations in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as well as Estonia. The
other four moved on to Amari Air Base in Estonia and then later
operated out of the Estonian island of Saaremaa.
Maryland
National Guard senior leaders, including U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Timothy
Gowen, adjutant general for Maryland; U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jori
Robinson, 175th Wing commander; and U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Edward
Jones, Maryland’s assistant adjutant general for air, observed the
A-10s forward air refueling from a MC-130J Commando assigned to the
352nd Special Operations Wing at Kuressaare Airport on the southern
part of Saaremaa.
Also that day, the A-10s supported the U.S.
Army High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live-fire
exercise from the north side of the island, which was coordinated by
the 291st Digital Liaison Detachment, Maryland Army National Guard.
The 291st DLD enabled interoperability between Estonian Defense
Forces and U.S. Army V Corps throughout the exercise.
A key
to making the overall mission happen was Airmen who are trained in
more than one field in order to reduce the overall footprint.
“Despite the deliberately reduced number of Airmen and limited
equipment, our combat range of our A-10s was incredibly large,”
Brig. Gen. Edward Jones, Maryland’s assistant adjutant general for
air said. “We relied on our Airmen down to the lowest level to be
multi-capable so we could accomplish all our goals. It was a
phenomenal display of our capabilities and I’ll be bragging on our
Airmen to whomever will listen.”
One example was Airman
First Class Samantha Condor, a crew chief with the 175th Aircraft
Maintenance Squadron. In addition to preparing the fighter jets, she
also was able to “juggle” her other job – working on the hydraulics
systems of the A-10, a responsibility she called “extremely
important.”
One of the last missions was the most
challenging logistically and operationally. Airmen and equipment
from Kuressaare were relocated by multiple airlift sorties from the
167th Airlift Wing, West Virginia Air National Guard’s C-17
Globemaster aircraft to Siauliai International Airport in Lithuania.
After setting everything up in the morning, the A-10s arrived for
rapid re-arming and refueling, which is known as an integrated
combat turn, before returning back to the range. After the last A-10
departed, the Airmen packed up again and departed back to Lielvarde
AB on the C-17.
“This entire mission throughout Europe would
not have been possible without the support of our friends from West
Virginia,” said U.S. Lt. Col. Paul Doran, an A-10 pilot and project
officer for the exercises. “Their aircrew and aerial porters were
critical to making sure our Airmen and equipment quickly moved
efficiently and safely so we could project air power dynamically and
extend our combat range.”
The West Virginia C-17s supported
Maryland by moving 367 tons of cargo during 29 intra-theater mission
legs in the EUCOM theater. From the initial planning, to practicing
the similar logistical movements in February, and for the entirety
of the exercise, the 167th AW ensured the mission objectives of the
175th Wing were met with strategic airlift.
“What was most
challenging for us was the condensed timelines and the multiple,
simultaneous locations that we were operating out of,” U.S. Air
Force 1st Lt. Joanna Voss, installation deployment officer assigned
to the 175th Logistics Readiness Squadron. “The ways we [typically]
deploy are not built for this [ACE] model of deployment, so we had
to get creative with how we solved certain problems. We needed to
employ the same standards of safety, reliability, and airworthiness
but still get the job done as fast as possible.”
Planning
for the exercises began over a year ago. In less than a month,
Maryland A-10 pilots supported training with joint terminal attack
controllers from 11 NATO nations during 500 live close air support
controls that expended 17,211 rounds of 30MM, 18 AGR-20 laser guided
rockets, six AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missiles, and 12 BDU-50
inert 500lb bombs.
“We have proven that we can execute the
[ACE] concept that is often talked about,” said Griffin. “The Airmen
of our maintenance team, our logistics team are capable of doing
this. It was challenging. It takes a lot of planning and a lot of
strong relationships with our partners but it is doable and it can
be expanded upon.”
Griffin said future exercises will likely
work with more and different partners, while building on the
relationships developed through these exercises that increase
interoperability and support NATO.
“We want to make sure our
partners and allies know that we are here for them, and that we can
integrate with them to provide mission success,” said Rutt. “This is
all imperative to ensure regional security [in Europe] and our
commitment to that security is upheld.”
Defender Europe and
Swift Response are annual, U.S. Army-led joint exercises to build
U.S., NATO and partner militaries’ readiness and enhance
interoperability.
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