BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, WESTFIELD, Mass. --
Media Advisory
Release No. 17-36
Contact:
SMSgt Julie Avey
413-568-9151 ext. 698-1299
Cell: (413) 564-9273
usaf.ma.104-fw.list.pa@mail.mil
October 13, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
104th Fighter Wing Launches Operational Readiness Exercise
BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, WESTFIELD, Mass. – Western Massachusetts residents may notice increased flying aircraft activity over the weekend as the 104th Fighter Wing conducts an Operational Readiness Exercise. During the exercise flying operations will be extended from 6:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m.
“Our mission is to train to deploy people, aircraft and equipment when called and this exercise is an important component of our annual training cycle,” said Col. James Suhr. “This specific exercise will evaluate our ability to launch our F-15 Eagles, recover them after a mission and then regenerate aircraft for another mission over and over again in a simulated war-time contested environment in the air and on the ground.”
Wing personnel will also focus on critical training in self-aid and buddy care, chemical warfare detection and the ability to operate in a chemical environment over the weekend.
-30-
The 104th Fighter Wing is equipped with the F-15 Eagle. One mission of the 104th is Aerospace Control Alert (ACA), providing armed fighters ready to scramble in a moment's notice to protect the Northeast from any airborne threat. The unit is responsible for protecting a quarter of the nation's population and over one third of the Gross Domestic Product.