As the simulators from the different locations represent the "blue" air forces (good guys), the DMOC has simulators of their own to represent the "red" air forces (bad guys) as seen above. Red forces can also be flown from a computer with a joystick. Simulation does not always represent the real environment well, but it does a good job and is getting better...it's also much cheaper. Each day of Virtual Flag involved mass briefs and debriefs using video teleconference (VTC), linking all participants into one big meeting. After the briefing, we'd all "fly" our missions in a virtual world and then debrief the results. It was my first experience in something like this, and one I'm sure I'll see more of in the future as technology gets better and better.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Virtual Flag
Virtual Flag takes place four times a year and is modeled after Red Flag. The main difference, as you might have guessed, is that it's virtual. I was the project officer (PROJO) for Shaw's participation in Virtual Flag this past week, and was responsible for the planning and coordination with the Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC) at Kirtland AFB, NM. The DMOC is the central hub for these virtual wars, linking simulators from all across the world.
As the simulators from the different locations represent the "blue" air forces (good guys), the DMOC has simulators of their own to represent the "red" air forces (bad guys) as seen above. Red forces can also be flown from a computer with a joystick. Simulation does not always represent the real environment well, but it does a good job and is getting better...it's also much cheaper. Each day of Virtual Flag involved mass briefs and debriefs using video teleconference (VTC), linking all participants into one big meeting. After the briefing, we'd all "fly" our missions in a virtual world and then debrief the results. It was my first experience in something like this, and one I'm sure I'll see more of in the future as technology gets better and better.
As the simulators from the different locations represent the "blue" air forces (good guys), the DMOC has simulators of their own to represent the "red" air forces (bad guys) as seen above. Red forces can also be flown from a computer with a joystick. Simulation does not always represent the real environment well, but it does a good job and is getting better...it's also much cheaper. Each day of Virtual Flag involved mass briefs and debriefs using video teleconference (VTC), linking all participants into one big meeting. After the briefing, we'd all "fly" our missions in a virtual world and then debrief the results. It was my first experience in something like this, and one I'm sure I'll see more of in the future as technology gets better and better.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
77 Fighter Squadron Spouse Taxi Day
Two weeks ago, the squadron put on a spouse appreciation day to give them insight into a typical day in a fighter squadron. The day started with the mass brief where topics like the weather, flying airspace, flight mission, takeoff and land times are all reviewed before going into the individual flight briefs. The individual flight briefs cover more specific details of the day's flight. After the mass brief, they were given a squadron tour before suiting up in a flight suit and getting their helmets in preparation for their taxi ride in the F-16.
Lana had been wanting to get an F-16 flight since we were married during our time at Aviano, so I'm glad she had this opportunity to at least get a taxi ride. I was not allowed to give taxi her, but I did help her get all strapped into the cockpit and put her helmet on. I also gave her a quick demonstration on how to key the mic and talk on the radio, since she would be making most of them. A few minutes after engine start, Lana keyed the mic and said, "Gambler ops, Poker 01 taxi one, words?" The response, "Poker 01, negative words, press, double down!" They then taxied to the end of the runway and were given clearance for high speed taxi. A high speed taxi is when the pilot selects afterburner and accelerates quickly to 77 knots before pulling the throttle to idle while the jet rolls to the end of the runway.
I'm glad Lana had the chance to taxi in the F-16 and see a little more of what my days are like. Sadly, it's not always flying, but I'm very blessed to have the job I do. Thanks Lana for all your support!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010
Lana, Liam and I spent this past Thanksgiving in the Blue Ridge Mountains northwest of Greenville, SC. Previously on our short trips, we had driven east to coast towns like Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston and Savannah so we decided the opposite direction would be nice for a change.
Soon, Liam's first Christmas will be here and we're looking forward to getting together with my family in Michigan to celebrate Christ's coming to Earth!
On Thanksgiving day, we made our way to Highlands, North Carolina for a couple nights. It was a nice small town in the mountains; a good location to relax as a family. We enjoyed a really good meal at one of the nearby restaurants early that afternoon and a nice walk through town. The next morning I went for a run (a little harder to breath at 4,000'), and then enjoyed another walk through town. Lana did a little 'black' Friday shopping while Liam and I followed. Later that evening we made our way to a really nice restaurant for dinner, which was owned by a German.
The following day we drove to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate and Grove Park Inn. The Biltmore is a very impressive place, and for awhile Lana and I felt as though we were in Europe somewhere. Grove Park Inn is a also nice, and we enjoyed our lunch there.
Soon, Liam's first Christmas will be here and we're looking forward to getting together with my family in Michigan to celebrate Christ's coming to Earth!Saturday, November 20, 2010
Jordan - Eager Tiger 2010
A few days after returning from Europe, I was on a plane back across the Atlantic enroute to Jordan for another squadron temporary duty assignment (TDY). Each year Jordan holds an international exercise called Eager Tiger, and this year the Jordanians, USA (F-16s and F-18s), UAE and Pakistan participated. Our main goal was that of diplomacy, with goals from our leaders that are way above our pay grades.
In all the TDY lasted about 3.5 weeks in which time we flew some large formation exercises (LFEs) and close air support (CAS). We were flying out of a base about 1.5 hours east of Amman in the middle of the desert, so there wasn't much to do during the week except fly, eat, work out, and sleep. It was actually like being back in Iraq, with minimal infrastructure and amenities. A few different times my flight had the chance to fly down low and fast over the southern part of Jordan...near Wadi Rum, which looks like another planet when flying over.
On the weekends, we were able to get away from the base and visit places like Amman, Petra, Jerash, the Dead Sea and Jesus' baptism site. The baptism site and Petra were the most impressive. So much Biblical history took place in many of the places we visited and Petra was just amazing...felt like Indiana Jones ought to ride around the corner. Lana and I had swam in the Dead Sea during our time in Israel (click here for that blog), but I have to say the Jordanian side was much nicer...some of my fellow pilots and I spent an enjoyable night at the Marriott one of the weekends and actually got kicked out of the Dead Sea for swimming at night...guess they didn't want us to float across to Israel.
I was one of the pilots to fly a jet back to the USA. Our route of flight took us over Egypt, then the Med on our way to Moron Air Base, Spain. When we were about half way between the Italian island of Sardinia (where Lana and I spent our honeymoon) and the Spanish island of Mallorca, my wingman had a minor engine malfunction which required us to land at the nearest airport...that was Palma de Mallorca. I had landed here once before, but just to get gas on an F-16 cross-country during my time at Aviano. This time it was for five days, and the time was spent exploring as much as we could see. One of the towns we visited was Portocolom, a town Lana worked in for four months back 2002. When the jet was fixed, we flew on to Moron Air Base on mainland Spain and had another five days to wait until we could get a tanker aircraft to take us back across the Atlantic to SC. So, we made the most of it and did some exploring around the local area. In all, it was a very nice change to Jordan, but I was ready to get home and see Lana and Liam. After a nice hour flight and 10 air refuelings later, we were back home together as a family once again.
In all the TDY lasted about 3.5 weeks in which time we flew some large formation exercises (LFEs) and close air support (CAS). We were flying out of a base about 1.5 hours east of Amman in the middle of the desert, so there wasn't much to do during the week except fly, eat, work out, and sleep. It was actually like being back in Iraq, with minimal infrastructure and amenities. A few different times my flight had the chance to fly down low and fast over the southern part of Jordan...near Wadi Rum, which looks like another planet when flying over.
On the weekends, we were able to get away from the base and visit places like Amman, Petra, Jerash, the Dead Sea and Jesus' baptism site. The baptism site and Petra were the most impressive. So much Biblical history took place in many of the places we visited and Petra was just amazing...felt like Indiana Jones ought to ride around the corner. Lana and I had swam in the Dead Sea during our time in Israel (click here for that blog), but I have to say the Jordanian side was much nicer...some of my fellow pilots and I spent an enjoyable night at the Marriott one of the weekends and actually got kicked out of the Dead Sea for swimming at night...guess they didn't want us to float across to Israel.
I was one of the pilots to fly a jet back to the USA. Our route of flight took us over Egypt, then the Med on our way to Moron Air Base, Spain. When we were about half way between the Italian island of Sardinia (where Lana and I spent our honeymoon) and the Spanish island of Mallorca, my wingman had a minor engine malfunction which required us to land at the nearest airport...that was Palma de Mallorca. I had landed here once before, but just to get gas on an F-16 cross-country during my time at Aviano. This time it was for five days, and the time was spent exploring as much as we could see. One of the towns we visited was Portocolom, a town Lana worked in for four months back 2002. When the jet was fixed, we flew on to Moron Air Base on mainland Spain and had another five days to wait until we could get a tanker aircraft to take us back across the Atlantic to SC. So, we made the most of it and did some exploring around the local area. In all, it was a very nice change to Jordan, but I was ready to get home and see Lana and Liam. After a nice hour flight and 10 air refuelings later, we were back home together as a family once again.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Liam Visits Scotland & Germany
The day after returning the my squadron's WIC support TDY to Nellis AFB, Lana, Liam and I hopped on a flight to Edinburgh, Scotland for a much needed holiday. During our time at Aviano, Lana and I had wanted to make a trip to Scotland, but ran out of time before having to move on in our Air Force journey. Now with Liam, we could show him to family and also see a country we had wanted to for some time. Lana's father is Scottish, so it was very nice to have family to see and stay with as we traveled.
After a relatively short flight (6-7 hrs) from Newark, NJ to Edinburgh, we were drinking tea and enjoying a chance to catch up with Lana's Aunt Gillian who lives in Edinburgh. We spend the rest of our time that day napping and adjusting to the time change. The following was spent in downtown Edinburgh...a great city! It's a very old and well kept city that has not seen the past destruction of WWII, and highly recommended for a visit. Later that week we drove to visit Lana's Granny on the west side of Scotland, in Ayr. She really enjoyed seeing Liam and it was a great day for a visit to Culzean Castle together. Soon after we were on a small plane headed towards the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland to visit Lana's father who lives on the Island of Hoy. We flew to the Island of Kirkwall and then took the ferry to Hoy. It was his first time seeing Liam and he really enjoyed having us for a visit. One of our days there, we hiked to see the 'Old Man of Hoy', which is a famous free standing rock off the northwest coast. The weather that day was cold, windy and rainy but it was worth the hike. Before flying back to Edinburgh, we also spent a day touring Kirkwall seeing St. Magnus Cathedral, the Ring of Brodgar and where Lana spent the first three years of her life before moving to Munich.
After a relatively short flight (6-7 hrs) from Newark, NJ to Edinburgh, we were drinking tea and enjoying a chance to catch up with Lana's Aunt Gillian who lives in Edinburgh. We spend the rest of our time that day napping and adjusting to the time change. The following was spent in downtown Edinburgh...a great city! It's a very old and well kept city that has not seen the past destruction of WWII, and highly recommended for a visit. Later that week we drove to visit Lana's Granny on the west side of Scotland, in Ayr. She really enjoyed seeing Liam and it was a great day for a visit to Culzean Castle together. Soon after we were on a small plane headed towards the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland to visit Lana's father who lives on the Island of Hoy. We flew to the Island of Kirkwall and then took the ferry to Hoy. It was his first time seeing Liam and he really enjoyed having us for a visit. One of our days there, we hiked to see the 'Old Man of Hoy', which is a famous free standing rock off the northwest coast. The weather that day was cold, windy and rainy but it was worth the hike. Before flying back to Edinburgh, we also spent a day touring Kirkwall seeing St. Magnus Cathedral, the Ring of Brodgar and where Lana spent the first three years of her life before moving to Munich.
The same day we left the Orkney Islands, we made our way to Munich. This was the first time Lana's German Grandparents and her brother had seen Liam, and they were all anxiously awaiting our arrival. During our time in Germany we visited Chieming, a nice Bavarian village where Oma and Opa live, and while there took a nice hike in the Alps near their home. Sadly, I didn't have too much time (5 days) in Germany but it was great being in Munich again...we both miss Europe very much. Since I had to fly back to the USA on our anniversary, Lana and I enjoyed our first evening out alone at a nice Italian restaurant near the apartment while Lana's mom babysat. Soon I was on a flight home to prepare for a month long work trip to Jordan while Lana and Liam stayed behind in Munich to be with family. We're not sure when we'll be back in Europe again but thankful for the time we were able to spend seeing more of God's World!
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