“Out in the airspace it’s been awesome, that was one of the big draws coming out here—the large airspace, with the accessibility that we sometimes miss at home station,” said Lt. Col. Mark Schnell, the 63rd Fighter Squadron commander.

Accessibility essentially means that the training time on the range is flexible, so if maintenance crews need extra time to get aircraft ready or something else delays a mission, it’s of little consequence to the training mission. For busy ranges such as Luke and Nellis Air Force Bases, slipping range time isn’t an option as it cuts into the subsequent users training time.

Initially, the visiting aircraft focused on their F-35 specific training with 10 sorties in the morning and eight more later in the day, The wing continued its training mission flying eight morning sorties and six afternoon sorties. The second week of training included integration with wing aircraft culminating in a large-force exercise involving 32 aircraft.

“Large ‘vols’ [evolutions] back home, you’re looking at probably 12 airplanes,” said Capt. Shaun Lovett, the visiting project officer. “32 aircraft adds some inherent challenges, deconfliction being one, also maintaining a level of awareness when half of those being “blue” and the other half are trying to kill you—makes it quite fun.”

When asked to reflect on any surprises or anything unexpected, Schnell said, “honestly it’s been how smooth things have been, it’s sometimes unnerving,” he said with a chuckle. He went on to say that despite half the ramp space being closed for renovation and a total of 38 aircraft parked on the ramp.

“Some of the easiest flying I’ve done,” said Lovett.

Col. Micah Lambert, 173rd FW vice commander, says the two units are looking at future opportunities to repeat this type of training here at Kingsley Field due to the success of this mission.

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This piece is written by Master Sgt. Jefferson Thompson from the 173rd Fighter Wing Public Affairs. Want to feature your story? Reach out to us at [email protected].