Airmen from the 'Wolf Pack' returned Dec. 20 after completing an 11-day training exercise for air combat training with Sailors flying F-18 Hornets at Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan. Forty Airmen from the 8th Operations Group, 8th Maintenance Group and 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron along with five F-16s were deployed to the naval installation Dec. 9-20.

"Air combat training between the services exposes both Navy and Air Force pilots to different air-to-air tactics and aircraft capabilities," said Maj. Michael Boger, 8th Operations Support Squadron director of operations and training exercise commander. "This type of training is critically important to maintain not only Wolf Pack pilots and maintainers, but Navy fighter pilots' combat skills by engaging in realistic air-to-air combat training against different types of high-performance fighter aircraft."

During the exercise pilots received training on different basic fighter maneuvers as the two different airframes went head-to-head within each training scenario. Training was stepped up during differential air combat tactics when four F-16 pilots flew against six F-18 pilots.

These scenarios along with flying from Japan according to Boger helped trained Wolf Pack aviators to varied aerial situations allowing them to learn adaptation and flexibility. According to Capt. Katie Jett, 35th Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge, maintenance has been great with all Airmen fully engaged during launch, recovery and any maintenance issues that have arose during the training exercise.

She said deploying to a Navy base compared to an Air Force base means there is different equipment to service and troubleshoot the aircraft along with parts. However, those differences didn't affect maintenance but will be beneficial for future training exercises.

"Since we've experienced what a naval base has to offer, we'll be able to better coordinate prior to arrival," said Jett. "This has been a beneficial training exercise for both operators and the maintainers." Another participant in the training was Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, which are based at Atsugi. The unit with its six squadrons and five different airframes was easily able to integrate and train with the 35th Fighter Squadron pilots through the joint air-to-air training.

"Joint air-to-air combat training is extremely important in today's military as joint operations become more and more essential," Lt. Cmdr. Jason Lane, assistant operations officer for CVW-5 said. "In a dynamic air-to-air training environment, face-to-face planning, briefing and debriefing are crucial to the training."

All agree that the training accomplished and bonds created have been beneficial for all. [ANN salutes Master Sgt. Sean P. Houlihan, Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs]

FMI: www.navy.mil/local/pacom