EA18G

While stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Jonathan Wright became the first Airman to fly a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler during a combat mission

On November 19, 2018, U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Jonathan Wright, who was stationed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, became the first Airman to fly a U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler during a combat mission.

Wright was assigned to the 390th Electronic Combat Squadron (ECS), Mountain Home Air Force Base (AFB), Idaho, and attached to the U.S. Navy’s Electronic Attack Squadron 135 “Black Ravens,” (VAQ-135) as stated by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, in the article First USAF Airman pilots Navy Growler in combat. The majority of the sailors who make up the “Black Ravens” are from the Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Washington.

Wright was flying when the U.S. The VAQ-135’s commander, Navy Cmdr. Steve Shauberger, served as the plane’s electronic warfare officer from the back seat.

“It’s a milestone, the fact that he’s the first Air Force pilot to fly a combat sortie in a Growler,” said Shauberger. “He’snthe first pilot we’ve had straight out of undergraduate flight training to do it as well. Hopefully, because of these successes, we can build up resident knowledge to enhance the Air Force while making the U.S. Navy more diversified.”

Wright made another flight when he was stationed at Al Udeid.

“It was a mix of excitement and a little anxiety, said Wright. “It was the first time for me to go into the country. I was getting to do what I’ve always wanted to do, flying in combat in a fighter jet.nIt’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was 10 years old. Years of training had led to this moment of doing the real thing.”

Wright, the sole Airman in the squadron that flies an EA-18G, was one of three Air Force officers assigned to VAQ-135 at the time. Wright acknowledged that it was challenging at first to operate in a combined setting, but he has relished the chance to study the electronic assault mission with his U.S. Navy counterparts.

“It was a challenge adapting to how the Navy does things versus the way it was ingrained to me at Shepard Air ForcenBase [during training],” said Wright. “It isn’t a challenge anymore and I fit right in. Having an Air Force pilot and a Navy electronic warfare officer in the same jet is a great picture of what a joint is. Same team, the same fight, and different assets. When we put them together, it’s effective.”

Though being the first Air Force Airman to operate a Growler in a combat situation is an accomplishment, Shauberger said that what Wright gets out of his experience in a joint environment will prove most rewarding.

“We integrate with the Air Force by going to Red Flag and other exercises,” said Shauberger. “It will be easier for that integration to happen in the future once 1st Lt. Wright returns to a regularnAir Force squadron and can educate them on Growler capabilities.  He can lay the groundwork in advance and provide the, ‘hey these guys can give us this … we can leverage that,’ instead of trying to start from scratch. It’s getting that experience and expertise to take back to the Air Force.”

In 2015, it was decided to add fighter pilots to the joint airborne electronic attack program by Air Combat Command and the Command of Naval Air Forces. U.S. Wright and other 390th ECS members were sent to VAQ-135 in order to provide an airman’s viewpoint on expeditionary operations, according to Air Force Maj. Allen Ferkovich of the 390th ECS.

“This joint collaboration increases mission effectiveness and facilitates 390th ECS Airmen to learn offensive airborne electronic attack and SEAD,” said Ferkovich. “We then bring that expertise back to the Air Force on follow-on assignments.”

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Hubenthal / U.S. Air Force