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New
Mexico skies host Navy, allied planes in joint exercise
Pilots
from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom's
Royal Air Force are flying together as part
of a U.S. Joint Forces Command-sponsored exercise in the
American southwest.
By
Air Force 1st Lt Jennifer M. Geeslin
27th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
(CANNON AIR FORCE BASE - March 23, 2005) - Local residents
are seeing different uniforms around the local communities
of Cannon Air Force Base and unfamiliar aircraft in the
skies over Eastern New Mexico.
Over 275 Navy personnel, along with 10 F/A-18 Hornets
and three E-2C Hawkeye radar planes, started arriving at
the 27th Fighter Wing on March 19 for a Joint Forces Command-sponsored
military exercise called Roving Sands which will run to
April 1.
"Roving Sands is mostly a large-scale air war which
is sponsored by the Army and exercises their air defense
capabilities," said Air Force Maj. Steve Brooks, 27th
Fighter Wing Roving Sands project officer.
"Roving
Sands is a way for military aircraft to practice against
the Patriot missile batteries. It is the way for
the pilots to attack the targets and evade the Patriot,
giving the Army an opportunity to train."
"The U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Britain's Royal
Air Force are all taking part in Roving Sands and a variety
of nearby bases are hosting the units who are flying in
for the exercise," added Brooks.
This is not the first year Cannon has participated in
this type of exercise.
"Roving Sands has existed in various forms throughout
the years, mainly as a large Army exercise with Air Force
support in the White Sands Missile Range," said Steve
Guastaferro, 27th Fighter Wing installation deployment
officer.
Unlike
past Roving Sands, this year’s exercise is part
of a much larger training event, Joint
Red Flag, a multi-service
exercise involving more than 10,000 participants at various
locations across the country.
Many
hours of preparation have gone into ensuring this exercise
will go smoothly, both for the 524th Fighter Squadron,
who will be flying in the exercise, but also for the visiting
Navy personnel.
"While many hours of preparation are required for
Cannon to participate in the Roving Sands exercise, it
additionally takes an extraordinary effort from all base
agencies to successfully host the Navy as they fly from
Cannon's ramp," said Guastaferro.
"From logistics and aircraft maintenance support,
to services, security, engineering, fuels, vehicles, lodging
and medical support, it takes every member of the Cannon
team to successfully support a deploying unit of this size
in such a dynamic exercise environment," he said.
This exercise will mainly be flown at night, in the Fort
Bliss, Texas area, with approximately 26 sorties leaving
Cannon per day.
"We have been planning this exercise for months now
to ensure it goes off without a hitch, provides the most
training possible and is another outstanding opportunity
for all of us to work in joint operations," concluded
Brooks.
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