In order to support U.S. CENTCOM Operation Inherent Resolve, Green Flag East 17-03 saw the participation of over 30,000 U.S. Army Soldiers and over 1,000 Airmen
Airmen from the 23rd Bomb Squadron (BS), 5th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS), and 5th Operations Support Squadron at Minot Air Force Base (AFB) participated in the exercise Green Flag East 17-03, which took place from January 13 to January 27, 2017, according to Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong, Public Affairs in his article Warbirds participate in Green Flag East 17-03.
In order to use close air support (CAS) and improve communication between air and ground forces, Barksdale AFB and Fort Polk, Louisiana, collaborate in a cooperative simulated combat operation known as Green Flag East. In preparation for U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), more than 1,000 Airmen and 30,000 U.S. Army Soldiers took part.
“Our role is to execute strikes against pre-planned targets and provide close air support, armed overwatch, convoy escort, and psychological operations in support of U.S. forces,” said Capt. Erik Nelson, 23rd BS b-flight commander. “This exercise allowed us to integrate in real-time with joint assets on the ground in a contested, degraded, and operationally-limited environment.”
The 23rd BS rotated between 11 five-person crews while flying three B-52H Stratofortresses each day. On target sets resembling those they may encounter downrange, they used simulated leaflet bombs, laser-guided munitions, and GPS-guided munitions.
Before taking over day-to-day operations under U.S. CENTCOM, Green Flag East served as the squadron’s validation exercise, according to Lt. Col. Michael Maginness, commander of the 23rd BS.
“We used this exercise for a cradle-to-grave rehearsal,” said Maginness. “We tested our ability to fly continuous area of responsibility coverage over 12 hours with three separate jets.”
Along with the 23rd BS, the exercise included about 350 members of the 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit (AMU). They were tasked with maintaining and giving the bomb squadron aircraft that could engage in combat. In a remarkably condensed amount of time, maintainers were trained to launch, recover, and fix aircraft after the flight using the same six aircraft that will be used downrange.
“Short of deploying to an area of responsibility, this is the most realistic combat experience the 23rd AMU will get,” said Senior Master Sgt. Andrew Poole, 5th AMXS lead production superintendent. “They gained valuable quick-turnaround experience in a simulated combat environment.”
In order to support U.S. CENTCOM, the 5th Bomb Wing displayed its capability to “Own It” and project B-52 firepower on command.
“The lessons learned from Green Flag gave us the opportunity to refine training and be ready to strike any target set, anytime, anywhere,” said Maginness.
Photo by Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong / U.S. Air Force