Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Vermont Airmen Test Agility During Multistate Exercise By Tech. Sgt. Richard Mekkri,
                158th Fighter Wing
 SAVANNAH, Ga. - Nearly 260 members of the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing and other Airmen and civilians from across the country participated in the ACE exercise Maple Thunder Jan. 22-Feb. 3. “ACE is short for ‘agile combat employment,’ and it’s a phrase we’ve been talking about in the Air Force for a couple of years now,” said Sandeep Mulgund, senior adviser to the deputy chief of staff for operations at Headquarters, Air Force, at the Pentagon. According to Air Force doctrine, ACE requires a revolutionary change in how the Air Force conducts operations. The 158th Fighter Wing has been implementing this model for nearly a year. “Maple Thunder has raised the bar on how we sharpen our skills at ACE,” said Mulgund. Skills employed during last year’s exercise in Fort Drum, New York, such as simultaneously flying combat sorties from multiple locations and recovering and restoring an air base, were some of the exercise objectives. To sharpen these skills, Airmen are “deployed” to austere environments outside their typical operating areas. “We’re practicing the forward deployment of forces in theater from a main operating base, in this case, the Burlington International Airport, to a forward-operating site (FOS),” said Lt. Col. Robert Peel, National Guard Bureau exercise director and an F-35 Lightning II pilot assigned to the 134th Fighter Squadron, 158th Fighter Wing. “We have taken over the CRTC (Combat Readiness Training Center) here in Savannah as our FOS.” Peel said more than a half dozen sites, known as clusters or contingency locations, fall under the FOS. Airmen could use any of them to aid in a combat situation quickly. One of those locations the 158th used during Maple Thunder was in South Carolina at the North Auxiliary Airfield at Joint Base Charleston. Nearly a three-hour drive from Savannah, the North Auxiliary site is a desolate location that mirrors an austere environment. Seven other units and civilian entities joined the Green Mountain Boys in the exercise to mimic an actual deployed situation. One of the hardship scenarios created for Maple Thunder required refueling F-35s in harsh or unfamiliar locations. To do this, a FARP was needed. FARP, or Forward Area Refueling Point, establishes a way for Airmen to refuel aircraft effectively in remote locations when air-to-air refueling is not possible or when fueling stations are inaccessible. Service members and C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Rhode Island Air National Guard’s 143rd Airlift Wing and the Connecticut Air National Guard’s 103rd Airlift Wing, and a KC-130J assigned to the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234, Marine Aircraft Group 41, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas, provided FARP capabilities. “This is the first time we’ve performed a FARP with our F-35s,” said Col. Michael Blair, 158th Operations Group commander. “You’re quickly getting airborne and getting to the job sooner without having to waste time going to a base that’s farther away.” Other Maple Thunder participants included the 232nd Combat Communications Squadron, Abston Air National Guard Station, Montgomery, Alabama; 282nd Combat Communications Squadron, 104th Fighter Wing, Westfield, Massachusetts; a U.S. Marine Corps KC-130; and ALIA, an electric aircraft provided by Beta Technologies (via AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force), South Burlington, Vermont. “Lessons learned from this exercise will support the evolution of ACE capabilities, doctrine, and training to meet the demands of an air fight against a peer adversary,” Mulgund said.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  Vermont Air National Guard
 Massachusetts Air National Guard
 Alabama Air National Guard
 Connecticut Air National Guard
 Rhode Island Air National Guard
 ACE
 
 334th Fighter Squadron Trains in Northeast
 By Tech. Sgt. Victoria Nelson,
  Wisconsin Air National Guard Receives F-35s
 By Staff Sgt. Cameron Lewis,
  Vermont's Green Mountain Boys Demonstrate Agility, Readiness
 By Master Sgt. Ryan Campbell,
  More
 Army, Air Force Team up to Load Helicopters at Shaw AFB4/11/2024New York Air Guard Members Recognized for Lifesaving Actions4/11/2024Texas Air Guard Deploys MQ-9 to Help Fight Wildfires4/9/2024 View more Guard News »
 US, Canadian Special Forces Forge Partnerships in Jamaica4/8/2024
Deployed Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Earn Their Combat Patch3/27/2024
Pennsylvania Guard Conducts Medical Cold-Load Training in Africa3/20/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 Illinois Air Guard Supports Partner Poland4/10/2024

Wisconsin Guard Builds on Papua New Guinea Partnership4/4/2024

Nevada Guard Welcomes Soldiers from Partners Fiji, Tonga4/2/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil