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SAVANNAH AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ga. — The 114th Fighter Wing participated in exercise Sentry South 26.1 at the Air Dominance Center, Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia from Jan. 20-30, 2026.
Formerly known as Sentry Savannah, Sentry South 26.1 is a jointly conducted exercise with more than 12 units working together to conduct over 700 training sorties within a 50,000-square-mile simulated combat environment.
“Sentry Savannah is an exercise that’s built on the fighter jets.” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph Walz, exercise director for Sentry South 26.1, Air Dominance Center, Georgia Air National Guard.
Walz explained that conducting a successful exercise of this scale really comes down to the people.
“Not only the people that fly these jets, but the maintainers that are turning wrenches on them every day and late at night,” said Walz. "When I come in at 4 a.m., security forces are sitting here on the airfield watching these jets, making sure they’re ready to go. To my services troops. To the POL (Petroleum Oil and Lubrication), the guys that bring the fuel to the aircraft. Every single person is valuable to this exercise”
In order to conduct an exercise of this scale, it takes a wide array of specialties to complete the mission. Exercises like Sentry South 26.1 provides invaluable training for Airmen to safely and effectively execute their duties in a high pace environment and around dissimilar aircraft on a single flightline.
“This is a fast-paced environment which teaches our Airmen to make decisions and take action in a timely manner,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Andrew Mager, the equipment maintenance flight chief assigned to the 114th Maintenance Group, South Dakota Air National Guard. “This training environment provides Airmen with the opportunity to experience what it takes to generate large-scale exercises.”
Airmen from a wide range of career fields across the 114th Fighter Wing played critical roles in the exercise. From maintenance personnel sustaining aircraft and security forces safeguarding the area, to pilots executing multiple training sorties and operations personnel ensuring the airfield remained safe and serviceable, each shop contributed to mission success.
Overall successful execution depends on the flexibility of the force and the teamwork required to adapt to daily changes in flying operations.
“This exercise permits us the ability to bring in 4th- and 5th-generation fighter aircraft onto one ramp, and to work together in a way that they cannot do anywhere else,” said Walz.
| Date Taken: | 02.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2026 07:40 |
| Story ID: | 557692 |
| Location: | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Always Ready, Always There: 114th Fighter Wing Airmen Train at Sentry South 26.1, by SSgt Taylor Solberg, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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