14 FS trains for mission success

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tong Duong
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Destroying enemy aircraft, providing top cover and dropping bombs on target is part of the tasks many pilots are charged with, but for those assigned to Misawa Air Base, Japan, that is just one in the laundry list of responsibilities.

Pilots of the 35th Fighter Wing's 13th and 14th Fighter Squadrons are part of the only Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses Wing within United States Pacific Command. Being the only wing of its kind makes realistic training crucial.

"It's important to exercise and test our capabilities in support of our mission, which is why the 35 FW is here -- to put bombs on target, and to provide a quick reaction capability to the entire theater," said Lt. Col. Gene Sherer, 14 FS commander.

Exercises are the bread and butter of the mission for this wing. Some of their objectives are to suppress the enemies integrated air defense system in order to minimize blue air (ally aircraft) losses, Sherer said. And if not, they provide cover for strikers whose role is to drop bombs to destroy high priority targets.

According to Capt. Jacob Coleman, 14 FS chief of mobility, the exercises are designed to replicate real world scenarios, with many injects from the evaluation team to test their abilities to overcome in-flight issues.

"Usually for pilots, injects are typically some type of degraded system, environment, weapon or something we have to deal with in the real world if a war were to kick off," Coleman said. "It's a mixture of air-to-air, air-to-ground, and we also practice supporting pilots who are dropping bombs."

For Sherer, the ORE is designed to test the wing's combat operations plans. From the aircraft maintenance and operations units to everyone who is supporting the fight, they are all executing the base's primary mission, to work hand in hand with our joint bilateral partners to ensure the protection of the Pacific and assist in the defense of Japan.

"There is certainly some training going on with respect to both operators and maintainers and everybody on base," Sherer said. "Take offs and [recoveries] are part of the ORE. It is one small step ... jets have to take off, aircraft need to be fixed, loaded with munitions, gassed up and be ready to go. This is why we do this training, so we can sharpen the blade and stay lethal."