Reservists build associate fighter group at Moody

Published Sept. 5, 2008
By Master Sgt. Bill Huntington
442nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Total Force Integration has come to the "Flying Tigers" at Moody AFB, Ga., with the stand up of Air Force Reserve Command's 476th Fighter Group, an A-10 Thunderbolt II unit.

A goal of TFI is to blend Regular Air Force and air reserve component Airmen making them indistinguishable from one another in all aspects of their operations. Other TFI fighter unit efforts in the Air Force Reserve are currently under way at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz.; Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; Holloman AFB, N.M.; and Nellis AFB, Nev.

Started in June 2007, as Detachment 1, 442nd Fighter Wing, the 476th FG will include the 76th Fighter Squadron, 476th Maintenance Squadron and 476th Aerospace Medicine Flight. As part of an ongoing Air Force-wide initiative to more efficiently carry out its mission, the group will work under its own command structure but will integrate its operations with the 23rd Wing's 74th and 75th Fighter Squadrons and 23rd Maintenance Group.

Col. Greg Ekfeld, who currently commands the detachment, will be the group's commander.

The group will eventually have about 230 reservists assigned, including 20 in the 76th FS. Another 160 will belong to the 476th MXS, and the 476th AMDF is slated to have 23 medical personnel. Most of the other reservists will serve on the group staff.

Besides its several medical technician positions, the 476th AMDF will include flight surgeons, nurses and a dentist who will monitor the group's medical readiness.

Most traditional maintenance disciplines, such as crew chiefs, loaders and munitions, will be assigned to the 476th MXS, commanded by Lt. Col. Pat Webb.

The flying operation currently has three pilots - Lt. Col. Mickey Moore, director of operations; Capt. LaRue Russell, director of training; and Capt. Brian Hatch who has been a mission planning cell chief with the 303rd FS at Whiteman AFB. The pilots are being fully integrated into the base's flying operations and will fly missions in the 23rd Wing's A-10Cs with the active-duty pilots as well as other Air Force Reserve pilots.

In June, Captain Russell became the first Air Force Reserve fighter pilot to fly an integrated sortie at Moody.

"It was very enjoyable to fly the C-model A-10 again," he said. "The biggest challenges were remembering the things I learned about flying the A-10C and knocking the rust off."

Colonel Moore, an A-10 pilot with more than 3,700 flying hours, said the A-10C is like the A-model but with its own challenges.

"Flying the airplane is the same," Colonel Moore said. "The difficulty is how to employ the weapons and how to use the new 'toys' smartly. We have the situational awareness and the air sense. Now all of those things that accompany your flying abilities will marry up, and we will be very good instructor pilots."

The focus of the reservists has been building up their unit, and being able to fly again has been an important milestone in the process.

The unit will continue to train and build experience in the A-10C, said Colonel Eckfeld.

"We want to build a cadre of experience, both pilot and maintenance professionals," he said. "Our pilots are expected to continuously train and instruct Moody pilots."

Moody is proving to be a great operating location for the group. The nearby range, so close that the sounds of the A-10's gun firing can be heard on base, will give the pilots an excellent opportunity to keep their skills sharp. The 23rd Wing's other flying mission, performed by the 347th Rescue Group with its HC-130 Hercules aircraft and HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, will enable the A-10 pilots to practice combat search and rescue exercises regularly.

The emphasis for the unit to this point has been to build up its maintenance capabilities. According to Colonel Moore, as more maintainers come on board and are able to turn more aircraft with their active-duty counterparts, the unit becomes better situated to accept a greater number of pilots.

"I'd rather see them get healthy with maintenance and have them turn a lot of airplanes," Colonel Moore said. "Then we can start bringing in more pilots."

The maintenance reservists work side by side with their counterparts and, according to Master Sgt. James Perdue, their 23rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron active-duty supervisor, each reservist is "another one of the troops" on the ramp.

"For the most part, I treat (the reservists) just like my guys from active duty," Sergeant Perdue said. "Their training records are set up the same, they go to the same appointments, and they are part of the same training process."

Sergeant Perdue understands the level of experience reservists can bring. When reservists passed through the F-16 maintenance course he had taught at Sheppard AFB, Texas, he felt that their presence was positive and beneficial.

"I learned from those guys," he said. "There were times when I had technical sergeants in my class who had been working the same airframe for 20 years." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)