WEBVTT 00:05.849 --> 00:08.071 So the 140 th wing has brought over 100 00:08.071 --> 00:10.970 and 90 folks down to Tyndall Air Force 00:10.979 --> 00:13.600 Base in Florida to participate in the 00:13.609 --> 00:16.170 checkered flag exercise . Almost half 00:16.180 --> 00:18.180 of those personnel are drill status 00:18.180 --> 00:20.420 card . Those individuals that drill 00:20.430 --> 00:22.541 usually one week in a month and about 00:22.541 --> 00:24.541 two weeks of each year . So we do a 00:24.709 --> 00:26.876 morning go where we have a massive war 00:26.876 --> 00:29.098 if you will , uh , very red flag ish if 00:29.098 --> 00:31.431 you'd like . And then in the afternoons , 00:31.431 --> 00:33.598 we'll do missile shoots against drones 00:33.598 --> 00:35.542 and some other , uh , other pre co 00:35.542 --> 00:35.470 ordinated assets . They'll have out 00:35.479 --> 00:37.423 there over the ocean . Those folks 00:37.423 --> 00:39.535 integrated in with a full time team , 00:39.535 --> 00:41.590 numerous different active duty teams 00:41.590 --> 00:43.757 from Nellis Langley . We actually even 00:43.757 --> 00:45.923 have Australian counterparts down here 00:45.923 --> 00:48.090 this week are really allowing us to do 00:48.090 --> 00:50.549 one thing . It's to integrate the 4th 00:50.560 --> 00:52.560 and 5th generation fighters to make 00:52.560 --> 00:54.671 sure that we can do air to air combat 00:54.671 --> 00:56.838 load the missiles , add the ammunition 00:56.838 --> 00:58.782 check the jets , launch the jets , 00:58.782 --> 01:00.838 recover the jets almost every single 01:00.838 --> 01:02.893 day . We've actually been sending up 01:02.893 --> 01:05.116 six jets every morning and then another 01:05.116 --> 01:06.782 six jets in the afternoon . A 01:06.782 --> 01:08.910 significant amount of just on hand , 01:09.050 --> 01:11.489 like hands on value added training for 01:11.500 --> 01:13.667 all of those individuals , integrating 01:13.667 --> 01:15.889 in with a full team and testing some of 01:15.889 --> 01:17.944 the newest missiles in the Air Force 01:17.944 --> 01:20.167 inventory . That integration of the 2/4 01:20.167 --> 01:22.278 gen to fifth gen and the way that the 01:22.278 --> 01:24.444 jets talk and the way the tactics work 01:24.444 --> 01:26.559 between the next level , next 01:26.569 --> 01:28.791 generation of fighters and what we have 01:28.791 --> 01:30.902 been doing against a China and Russia 01:30.902 --> 01:32.958 of the past that takes some work and 01:32.958 --> 01:35.480 some practice for the pilots to go out 01:35.489 --> 01:37.656 there and fight against some sort of a 01:37.656 --> 01:39.711 threat as those partner nations also 01:39.711 --> 01:41.656 get F-35s . That discussion has to 01:41.656 --> 01:43.639 happen airborne as well , not only 01:43.650 --> 01:45.817 internally to the air force , but also 01:45.817 --> 01:47.761 with our partner nations as well . 01:53.500 --> 01:55.611 Looking at what the future fight will 01:55.611 --> 01:58.860 be . And if we look at our airmen , if 01:58.870 --> 02:00.926 we look specifically at our pilots , 02:00.926 --> 02:02.926 it's been really interesting to get 02:02.926 --> 02:05.037 that back brief every day and see how 02:05.037 --> 02:07.148 well they're doing against an F-22 or 02:07.148 --> 02:09.270 an F-35 . We really have an amazing 02:09.279 --> 02:11.335 team that can get up there and go to 02:11.335 --> 02:13.279 air , to air combat with them . If 02:13.279 --> 02:15.880 indeed , that day comes and we have to 02:15.889 --> 02:19.289 go to war with a near peer adversary . 02:19.300 --> 02:22.039 That is what this event is created to , 02:22.660 --> 02:24.882 to start practicing against . Frankly , 02:24.882 --> 02:27.104 we go to war with what we got and right 02:27.104 --> 02:29.327 now what we've got is a bunch of fourth 02:29.327 --> 02:31.549 gen fighters , particularly in the F-16 02:31.549 --> 02:31.250 and the F-15 world , our planes are 02:31.259 --> 02:33.481 getting older . The amount of time that 02:33.481 --> 02:35.537 we see our maintainers on the runway 02:35.537 --> 02:37.648 every day compared to the maintainers 02:37.648 --> 02:39.759 say for the F-22s is significant . We 02:39.759 --> 02:41.981 have , we have to have a lot more folks 02:41.981 --> 02:44.203 out there and put a lot more hours into 02:44.203 --> 02:46.203 getting these planes ready to fight 02:46.203 --> 02:48.370 every single day . It really builds on 02:48.370 --> 02:50.315 the need for the Colorado National 02:50.315 --> 02:52.037 Guard to modernize its fleet , 02:52.037 --> 02:54.119 preferably into one of these fifth 02:54.130 --> 02:56.270 generation fighters , not only for 02:56.279 --> 02:58.279 saving of maintenance , but to make 02:58.279 --> 03:00.501 sure that we are staying on the leading 03:00.501 --> 03:02.668 edge of what we can bring to the fight 03:02.668 --> 03:04.557 wherever that fight may be in the 03:04.557 --> 03:06.779 future . If we do have to take this war 03:06.779 --> 03:08.890 in a China type scenario , there will 03:08.890 --> 03:11.001 be a lot of missiles coming off . The 03:11.001 --> 03:13.112 uh we have not shot a lot of missiles 03:13.112 --> 03:15.168 in a global war on terror , uh fight 03:15.168 --> 03:17.279 over the better part of 20 years . So 03:17.279 --> 03:19.390 you have to continue to make sure the 03:19.390 --> 03:21.612 jets are able to actually fire missiles 03:21.612 --> 03:23.779 if indeed we are sending signals to do 03:23.779 --> 03:23.600 so . And this is the opportunity to do 03:23.610 --> 03:25.666 that . You know , as I walked around 03:25.666 --> 03:27.832 and met the troops this morning , it's 03:27.832 --> 03:27.830 great to see them . Uh It's , you know , 03:27.839 --> 03:30.006 my first question is , is who's a part 03:30.006 --> 03:31.950 timer here ? Right ? Because those 03:31.950 --> 03:33.672 folks don't get the hacks that 03:33.672 --> 03:35.895 everybody does uh on a day to day out , 03:35.895 --> 03:38.117 the full timers there right . As a part 03:38.117 --> 03:40.172 time structured force in the Guard , 03:40.172 --> 03:42.228 it's our full time , our full timers 03:42.228 --> 03:44.395 job to prepare our part timers that if 03:44.395 --> 03:46.228 we do end up going to war , that 03:46.228 --> 03:48.228 they're ready to do that and be the 03:48.228 --> 03:50.506 most expert they possibly can in their , 03:50.506 --> 03:50.080 in their , in their mission set . For 03:50.089 --> 03:52.479 example , we have 11 gentleman , he's a 03:52.490 --> 03:54.960 surgeon . He literally comes to drill 03:54.970 --> 03:57.081 and loses money every single day that 03:57.081 --> 03:59.137 he comes to serve . Why ? Because he 03:59.137 --> 04:01.470 wants to serve his nation and his state . 04:01.470 --> 04:03.692 Other individuals who are instructors , 04:03.692 --> 04:05.692 they're teachers downtown , they're 04:05.692 --> 04:07.637 school administrators . One of the 04:07.637 --> 04:07.630 things , the most significant things in 04:07.639 --> 04:09.806 the air force right now is making sure 04:09.806 --> 04:11.972 that we have personnel that if we were 04:11.972 --> 04:14.195 to go to an island hopping or something 04:14.195 --> 04:16.306 like that , that they are multi multi 04:16.306 --> 04:18.361 capable in the skills and tasks that 04:18.361 --> 04:20.195 they do . This affords them that 04:20.195 --> 04:20.160 opportunity to do so , right ? And it 04:20.170 --> 04:22.609 affords them to do it with our partners 04:22.619 --> 04:24.841 and the fifth gen . So they can kind of 04:24.841 --> 04:26.897 see how they , how they operate with 04:26.897 --> 04:29.008 the expectation that we will fleet up 04:29.008 --> 04:31.063 and get an F-35 at Buckley as well . 04:31.063 --> 04:33.286 Some individuals are giving up multiple 04:33.286 --> 04:35.397 weeks of their time or their personal 04:35.397 --> 04:37.452 career to come down here and do this 04:37.452 --> 04:39.452 training . We have individuals that 04:39.452 --> 04:41.286 work on engines that work on the 04:41.286 --> 04:43.397 electronics , personnel that do intel 04:43.397 --> 04:45.397 and personnel that actually fly the 04:45.397 --> 04:47.730 jets the other day . We had it all call . 04:47.730 --> 04:47.154 We were able to highlight some of our 04:47.165 --> 04:49.894 superior performers from this exercise . 04:50.184 --> 04:52.351 And the one thing that stuck out and a 04:52.351 --> 04:54.517 lot of people commented on it was that 04:54.517 --> 04:56.573 everybody had almost talked to every 04:56.573 --> 04:58.906 single other person in the organization . 04:58.906 --> 05:01.017 When we came together to conclude the 05:01.017 --> 05:03.128 mission down here , it really goes to 05:03.128 --> 05:05.351 show that we are truly one team working 05:05.351 --> 05:06.244 towards the collective fight .