122nd Fighter Wing trains to win during Guardian Blitz

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Kathleen LaCorte | A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft assigned to the 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana Air National Guard taxi down the runway after landing during Guardian Blitz at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Jan. 24, 2023. During the exercise, 122nd FW Airmen performed Integrated Combat Turn maneuvers on the aircraft at Moody Air Force Base after the aircraft took off from MacDill Air Force Base. ICT maneuvers involve refueling and rearming the aircraft while the pilot waits in the cockpit with engines running before taking off again in order to maximize time in the air. During Guardian Blitz, the 122nd FW positioned the main force at MacDill Air Force Base while stationing a self-sufficient contingency force at Moody Air Force Base to further project combat power and sustainability in a contested environment. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Kathleen LaCorte)  

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, UNITED STATES

01.30.2023

Story by Staff Sgt. Kathleen LaCorte 

122nd Fighter Wing

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The 122nd Fighter Wing executed Guardian Blitz, a training exercise with approximately 180 Airmen and ten A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft with the main force located at MacDill Air Force Base and a smaller, contingency force located at Moody Air Force Base, Jan. 23 - Feb. 4, 2023.

The 122nd FW performed Guardian Blitz with proactive airpower maneuvers called Agile Combat Employment. ACE expands U.S. power projection to networks of smaller, dispersed locations to execute missions with maneuvers that are unpredictable to adversaries, increase survivability and generate more military options in a contested environment.

“We have to adapt how we fight future wars,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kyle D. Hoopingarner, 122nd FW command chief. “ACE is a big piece of that for us. It allows us to forward deploy our aircraft, disperse into different locations and have smaller footprints of lethal fighting aircraft with more targets for the enemy to have to hit.”

ACE also requires Multi-Capable Airmen trained to support mission generation, command and control, and base operating support in contested environments. The 122nd FW is leading the charge to meet the changing threat environment by training cross-functional Airmen to be ready for wartime tasks at a moment’s notice. The 122nd FW already has fully trained teams of Multi-Capable Airmen and is currently training to add more MCA certified teams.

“You are taking a small footprint of Blacksnakes to a location and you can’t afford to take people from every shop, from every specialty,” said Hoopingarner. “Some of them need to be able to cross over and learn about another shop’s job so that they can do their primary job and they can help out with a secondary job as well. The more Multi-Capable Airmen we have, the more effective we will be implementing the ACE concept. ACE drives the need for MCA’s. We have done a great job of leaning forward for the fight and teaching our Airmen to do more.”

One of the MCA teams executing Guardian Blitz at Moody Air Force Base represented eight different Air Force specialty codes, and the team members worked closely to cross train each other on tasks and duties of various Air Force skills that were required for the duty at hand.

“It is building camaraderie, it is building better communication between shops," said Tech. Sgt. Jack Glad, aircraft turn supervisor working at the Moody Air Force Base contingency location. “We are able to be faster, better at everything we are doing.”

The 122nd FW MCA teams are cross-functional with highly trained Airmen using streamlined tactics to generate combat airpower and conduct persistent mission generation and logistics in an austere environment.

“We are faster and more efficient,” said Glad. “Our job is to make sure we get a code one aircraft back in the air fully loaded and we are doing it in half the time.”

Training to fight with MCA during Guardian Blitz allows the 122nd FW to always maintain the high ground and fight from a position of advantage while complicating the adversary’s attack strategies in a modern, contested environment.

“In the Guard we deal with people that have such great talent," said Senior Master Sgt. Jonathon Caughlan, 122nd FW first sergeant. “I think that it is a fantastic opportunity to operate with autonomy and really thrive with a small team of professionals that are charged with doing the work that is traditionally done with so many more people.”

• Date Taken: 01.30.2023
• Date Posted: 01.30.2023 22:20
• Story ID: 437489
• Location: MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, US
• Hometown: FORT WAYNE, IN, US