This article appeared in the January 1999 issue of Code One Magazine.
Members of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw AFB in South Carolina marked a homecoming of sorts on one Saturday last September. All of the wing's eighty-plus F-16s were on base and lined up perfectly on the ramp. "I drove up and down the flight line for an hour just looking at all the jets," recalls Lt. Col. James Whitmore, the operations group commander. "The display was impressive." The show of force lasted about thirty-six hours. By Sunday afternoon, the 20th launched a portion of its F-16s to the Middle East for Operation Southern Watch.
Col. Dan Leaf, the commander of the 20th FW, tracks all of the comings and goings of his F-16 Block 50 squadrons with what he calls a rolling calendar. The electronic logbook shows a twelve-month slice of time across the top and lists the wing's four F-16 squadrons down the left side. The middle portion details the activities of the units. The presentation becomes more complex with each click of the mouse as Leaf explains how his wing has handled short-notice, and sometimes no-notice, deployments to Southwest Asia. Contingency operations, like Northern Watch and Southern Watch, can wreak havoc on the best-laid plans. But successfully dealing with the havoc is a source of pride and accomplishment at Shaw.
"Op tempo," a common refrain these days, has operations at Shaw singing along at a high pitch. "When I took off last January on my first Operation Northern Watch mission," recalls Leaf, "the 20th Fighter Wing had elements of two other squadrons flying simultaneously over Iraq from two other bases. Soon after, we had people redeploy from one country to another country to cover Southern Watch. We handled the multiple deployments magnificently."
Most F-16 units are in high demand these days for a variety of reasons. The Block 50 jets at Shaw are prized for their ability to destroy surface-to-air missile sites and radar-guided antiaircraft artillery with the AGM-88 high-speed antiradiation missile, more commonly called HARM. These F-16 Block 50 fighters also carry a HARM targeting system, represented by a small pod on the right chin of the inlet. The pod contains a super-sensitive receiver that detects, classifies, and ranges threats and then passes the information to the HARM and to display screens in the cockpit.
Missions with the HARM, called suppression of enemy air defenses or SEAD missions, fall into two categories, A and C. In SEAD A, SAM sites and their associated radar are detected and targeted to prevent them from operating. In SEAD C, SAM sites are destroyed with a HARM shot or with other munitions, including Maverick missiles and bombs.
F-16s have been involved with the SEAD mission even before the Block 50 was introduced. In the Gulf War, Block 30 F-16s loaded with HARMs accompanied F-4G Wild Weasels in what was called mixed pairs. The F-4Gs targeted SAM sites and passed targeting information to the F-16s, which helped destroy the sites. The unique capabilities of the F-16 Block 50 allowed USAF F-16s to take over the SEAD role from the F-4G Wild Weasel shortly after the Gulf War when F-4s were phased out of USAF inventory.
Other USAF F-16 Block 50 and Block 52 units performing the SEAD role are located in Misawa, Japan; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany; and McEntire ANGB, South Carolina. The four Block 50 squadrons at Shaw constitute forty percent of all USAF's SEAD assets and perform approximately sixty percent of the SEAD real-world tasking. Most of these assignments have been in Southwest Asia from bases in three countries in the region.
"We view the SEAD as job one," says Leaf. "Air operations are a prerequisite for any significant military operation. When we perform sustained air operations, we are going to suppress the enemy's defenses. We look at ourselves as being on the tip of the operational spear. We are America's SEAD wing and we are in high demand." The statistics support Leaf's contention. From June 1996 to May 1998, the 20th FW flew almost 6,300 combat sorties and 21,400 hours during various deployments for Operations Northern and Southern Watch.
Shaw also happens to be home to one of the Air Force's newest fighter squadrons, the Fighting 55th. The squadron was created from assets and personnel formerly contained in three other squadrons at the base. "The expansion gives us a command and control infrastructure to meet our multiple deployment tasks," Leaf explains.
The math behind turning three squadrons into four is relatively straightforward. Before the transformation, the 20th FW had three twenty-four-aircraft squadrons, each with five backup aircraft (eighty-seven total aircraft for the wing). After the transformation, the wing had three eighteen-aircraft squadrons with two backup aircraft each (sixty aircraft) and one twenty-four-aircraft squadron with three backup aircraft (twenty-seven aircraft). The newly-created 55th is one of those eighteen-aircraft squadrons. The 77th FS Gamblers and the 79th FS Tigers are also smaller squadrons. The 78th FS Bushmasters have twenty-four aircraft and three backups.
"The creation of the new squadron was like an expansion draft in the NFL," explains Lt. Col. Bob Harvey, commander of the 55th. "We took about a third of our personnel from each of the three existing squadrons. We had our pick of key supervisors. Then we chose from folks who were interested in starting a new squadron. We formed a very enthusiastic group. The wing had three distinctly different squadrons before. Now it has four."
The success of the 55th FS is a story in itself. The squadron was generating sorties only thirty days after opening its doors on 1 October 1997, producing 172 sorties in its first month of operation. Seventy-five days after achieving initial operational capability, the 55th deployed for Operation Southern Watch where it flew its first sorties six hours after landing. The 55th went on to fly more than 300 combat sorties for a total of 1,275 hours during that deployment. Two months later, the squadron deployed for Operation Northern Watch on three days notice. At the same time, the 55th sent aircraft to Nellis AFB, Nevada, for a Green Flag exercise.
"Creating smaller squadrons from larger squadrons has its advantages and its disadvantages," says Whitmore. "The biggest advantage appears when we have heavy contingency tasking schedules. Squadrons don't have to deploy overseas quite as often."
"The biggest disadvantage with an eighteen-aircraft squadron," Whitmore continues, "is that we still have all the overhead requirements of a twenty-four-aircraft squadron, but we have fewer people to do those overhead jobs. Deploying six aircraft and running split operations from a twenty-four-aircraft squadron is a lot easier because we are still left with eighteen aircraft on base. But if we take six or twelve aircraft out of an eighteen-aircraft squadron, we don't have many personnel left to do the work back home." The 20th FW has addressed this disadvantage by folding what remains of a smaller squadron into another squadron when half or more of the smaller squadron's assets are deployed.
"In a perfect world," Whitmore says, "we would have four squadrons of twenty-four aircraft each instead of three with eighteen."
Another disadvantage of smaller squadrons is having two or three backup aircraft per squadron instead of five. Fewer backup aircraft forces maintainers to work harder and smarter to keep a squadron at full strength. "Our heavier workload allows us to streamline processes and cut through the bureaucracy," explains Col. Steve Graham, the logistics group commander at Shaw. "Our op tempo gives us an opportunity to look at new ways of working."
Graham encourages new ideas by exposing his technicians to a variety of jobs. Senior maintenance officers on the flight line spend time in the back shops, and back shop commanders spend time on the flight line. "People coming from the outside are more likely to take new approaches," Graham explains. "We also write down ideas and frequently get together to talk about them. We try to stay focused on ways to make our jobs more effective. We have to be willing to step back and take a close look at how we do our jobs and invest the time needed to do them better."
One recent innovation involved finding a way to mount two HARM launch rails to the F-16 and still leave room for two travel pods. Normally, the HARM rails take up the same wing hard points used for the travel pods when the aircraft is configured with two fuel tanks. The travel pods are needed for storing gear for landing at austere bases and for other equipment carried on deployments. The solution, which involves a $5 bolt that allows a travel pod and a launch rail to be mounted on a triple ejector rack, saves valuable cargo space and greatly simplifies the effort needed to get an F-16 ready for SEAD missions once the aircraft arrives at a deployed base. (The HARMs themselves are already positioned for Northern and Southern Watch.)
Besides working smarter, squadrons work together to support the heavy deployment schedule. The night before departing, for example, pilots from non-deploying squadrons work with the maintenance personnel to prepare the aircraft for flight while pilots of the deploying squadron plan missions and get their required crew rest. Maintainers from the non-deploying squadrons generate the aircraft as maintainers from the deploying squadron prepare equipment and load it onto cargo planes. End-of-runway checks are usually shared among squadrons.
"Normally, half of one squadron is gone at all times, so the remaining half works to support the deployed group," Harvey explains. "Split operations have been the history of this wing. Several people have been in the squadron for six months and have never met each other. Before Desert Storm, squadrons would rarely operate this way. We would always deploy as a unit."
"Your average American probably doesn't know that we have jets flying over southern and northern Iraq every day of the year unless they know someone who is over there," says Whitmore. "And we've been doing this for the last seven years.
"Operations Northern and Southern Watch started right after the Gulf War," Whitmore continues. "I have more experience up north. Northern Watch began as Operation Provide Comfort, which was part humanitarian and part enforcement of the northern no-fly zone over Iraq. Southern Watch was set up to protect Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other countries to Iraq's south. The operations have run the gamut from a few resources and a small presence to a lot of resources and a large presence. The rules and restrictions have changed over the years as well. When we first started in the north, we didn't have a minimum altitude. Now we cannot fly below 15,000 feet. However, the basic patrolling of the north and south hasn't changed that much in seven years."
Those missions can be long and tedious. They typically last about five hours and involve multiple aerial refuelings. The standard configuration for the Block 50 F-16s for these flights consists of two AGM-88 HARMs under the wings, two AIM-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles on the wingtips, two AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-seeking air-to-air missiles on the outboard wing stations, an electronic countermeasure pod on the centerline, HTS pod on the right inlet, and two fuel tanks on the inboard wing stations.
"For Northern Watch, we take off from bases north of Iraq," says Whitmore. "We fly forty-five minutes, top off with gas, and patrol the northern part of Iraq for about an hour. Then we get more gas, patrol another hour, get more gas, and go back in for half an hour before topping off with gas once more and going home. We refuel three or four times during a typical mission. A pilot generally flies three or four times a week."
Pilots from the 20th FW work with AWACs, EA-6Bs, F-15s, other F-16 units, and reconnaissance assets in a coordinated effort on these missions. The AWACs provide command and control. EA-6Bs provide jamming. F-15s provide air cover. F-16 strikers stand ready to put down threats with precision munitions. Tactical reconnaissance is provided by British GR.1s and occasionally by Navy F-14s flying off aircraft carriers.
"We don't see much activity on the ground and very little activity in the air," explains Maj. Mark Miller, operations officer for the 77th FS. "The UN sanctions state that the Iraqi aircraft cannot fly below the 33rd parallel to the south and above the 36th parallel to the north. We enforce those restrictions. Civilian air traffic going in and out of Baghdad stays in the airspace between the parallels, so they come in from the east and west. The 33rd parallel is just south of Baghdad. Some of the coalition forces don't go above the 32nd parallel, which provides about a sixty-mile buffer zone. If Iraqi aircraft go south of the 33rd, we have a legal right to engage them. UN-sanctioned flights go through the area fairly regularly. The UN flights are always briefed to us so we know they are there."
"Nothing happens on most of the missions," Whitmore says, "but the situation can change real fast. We can't be complacent."
"The missions can get exciting when we have some of our aircraft going into one of the missile engagement zones," says Miller, who has deployed to the region two times since coming to Shaw. "When we have aircraft in these areas, we consider it a hostile act for Iraqi ground troops to turn on their radars."
"We frequently mix counter-air sorties with SEAD sorties in both Northern and Southern Watch," says Leaf. "While SEAD is a priority, we also have a great self-protection capability with the F-16 Block 50. When needed, we can supplement F-15s or pick up their air-to-air role when they are not available." Leaf, himself a former F-15 pilot, was the F-15 operations group commander at Langley AFB, Virginia.
"For first timers, the flying is pretty exciting," adds Miller. "They are flying with live ordnance and they are flying real missions in which they could engage real threat aircraft. Even though the missions may not be as demanding as some of the training missions we fly in the United States, the pilots are a little nervous for the first few flights. We also do some things at night over there that we can't practice over here. For example, we fly with lights out over Iraq for obvious reasons, and we use minimum communications."
"Some folks say we are losing our skills performing these missions," says Lt. Col. David Minto, the commander of the 77th FS. "While we aren't out there shooting missiles and dropping bombs, we are doing many of the things we would be doing in actual combat. We work plans with all the other air assets. We carry sidearms with real bullets. We load live ordnance on the airplanes and stay on full combat alert. We are getting gas and pushing across the border into Iraq. The flying may sacrifice some of our skills, but we regain them pretty quickly when we come back home."
While the 20th FW has been deploying F-16s to Operation Southern Watch for years, the deployments to Operation Northern Watch began in 1998. "We traded off desert tasking for tasking up north," Whitmore explains. "The change in itself is refreshing. The quality of life is better up north. We can go off base and shop, or go on tours if we can get a couple of free days. Southern Watch deployments are often way out in the desert, and we are usually confined to the base."
"We alternate between Northern and Southern Watch to break up the cycle of always deploying to the desert," says Harvey, who has deployed to the Persian Gulf region four times. "The north has a variety of weather from November to February, everything from snowstorms to monsoons. On the other hand, the heat in the desert can be oppressive. The area around southern Iraq consistes of relatively flat desert. Northern Iraq is mountainous with rivers and farmland. It's actually quite beautiful. Northeastern Iraq has huge rivers flowing through deep valleys and real mountainous terrain."
In mid-1997, the 20th FW began swapping out personnel deployed on these contingency operations every forty-five days. "We used to have units tasked for ninety days at a time with no swap-outs during those ninety days," notes Whitmore. "The ninety-day deployments were often stretched to 110 days, which is a long time to be gone. Then we would turn around and ask someone to do it again. We were burning people out, especially when they were deployed for long periods that included the Christmas holidays. After deploying like that for two and one-half years, their reward is often an assignment to Kunsan for a year, unaccompanied. Such grueling op tempo certainly doesn't help our retention. As a result, the personnel swaps every forty-five days are a quality of life initiative. Most people would prefer to go twice as often for shorter periods.
"This approach also improves our readiness because we are sending fresh troops in more often," Whitmore continues. "Pilots and other personnel can lose their edge performing the same mission for three months straight. Air-to-air skills can quickly degrade as well."
The deployments, which now consist of three rotations of forty-five days, simplify logistics since the units can leave equipment at the deployed base for 135 days instead of ninety. Aircraft are also shared or "rainbowed" between squadrons during these periods, which is a more efficient use of resources.
How the 20th FW and other wings prepare for deployments will soon be affected by the expeditionary aerospace force concept to be implemented in the year 2000. The concept, unveiled last August by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Ryan, will organize fighting units into about ten air expeditionary forces, two of which would be on call at any given time to respond to contingency or humanitarian hot spots. Units assigned to these forces will train together for deployments in exercises, such as Red Flag. The concept recognizes that the many, relatively small contingencies the Air Force has supported in recent years will be the way it can expect to operate in the future. It will also add more predictability and stability to members of a unit because they will know when and for how long they will be on call.
"One of our squadrons could be teamed with F-15Cs from Langley and F-15Es from Seymour Johnson," explains Whitmore. "We would then go to Red Flag together and train as a group a month or so before we deploy as an air expeditionary force. I don't think the concept will reduce our op tempo that much because we will still own four of the nine SEAD squadrons and every expeditionary force will include SEAD assets. The biggest change will be training with the people with whom we will be deploying and achieving more stability in our long-range schedule."
"Because we have the preponderance of SEAD assets, we know that we can be called on short notice to deploy anywhere in the world," says Leaf. "The F-16 Block 50 is the most effective lethal SEAD platform in the Department of Defense. We have evolved our tactics, techniques, and procedures to make us much more effective than we were even two years ago. Our support equipment has also improved. And the airplane itself has a high system and airframe reliability. The SEAD problem may be approachable in other ways, but we think the Block 50 F-16 will be central to the solution for some time to come."
Article by Eric Hehs; photos by Lans Stout