Range Day showcases Wild Weasel mission

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Melanie A. Hutto
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  More than 340 Airmen and family members attended the annual Range Day event hosted by the 35th Operations Group at Draughon Range outside Misawa AB, Oct. 26.

“Range Day allows Team Misawa to interact with different squadrons from around the base and see how they all act as pieces of a puzzle that fit together flawlessly to make each mission a success,” said Capt. James Broncheau, 35th Operations Support Squadron assistant director of operations.

Draughon Range is used for air-to-ground munitions employment, which made it the perfect arena to host an F-16 demonstration. Pilots from the 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons were able to practice attacking ground targets from low altitudes using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.

“I thought it was fantastic,” expressed Jenny Cichowski, spouse of Maj. Trevor Cichowski, 35th Fighter Wing chief of safety. “This was our first time attending the event. My kids and I loved seeing the jets drop bombs in person.”

However, the flying units were not the only focus. The fire department, aircrew flight equipment team, explosive ordnance disposal team and other units also displayed their equipment to the public, letting them get a closer look at the devices used to ensure Misawa is ready to “fight tonight.”

“The idea behind it is to show how all these different organizations form the base of support that ultimately helps the F-16 and F-16 pilots to get airborne,” said 2nd Lt. Lance Kapral, 35th OSS intelligence analyst.

Overall, Range Day showcased the comradery between Misawa units and presented deeper insight to family members of how Airmen maintain the highest level of mission readiness.

“I hope everyone in attendance walks away with an understanding of how the pilots utilize the airspace around Misawa and see first-hand how their loved ones contribute to the mission and what the mission entails,” Kapral said.