Ready for the Raptor: Reserve and PACAF teaming up for groundbreaking F-22 unit in Alaska

by Bo Joyner
Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command

3/14/2007 - ROBINS AFB, Ga. -- Officials from Pacific Air Forces and Air Force Reserve Command are working together to establish PACAF's first F-22 Raptor unit at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska -- a groundbreaking Total Force organization designed to maximize the capabilities of the Air Force's newest fighter aircraft.

The first of 36 operational F-22 aircraft is expected to be delivered to Elmendorf in August, ushering in a new era of Total Force Integration within the fighter community.

"Total Force Integration is definitely the wave of the future," said Lt. Col. Mike Popovich, AFRC's F-22 integration team leader, "and we are partnering with PACAF to make TFI a reality at Elmendorf."

The base will be home to two active-duty Raptor units -- the 90th and 525th Fighter Squadrons -- as well as a Reserve associate squadron, the 302nd FS. Under the associate relationship, PACAF's 3rd Wing at Elmendorf will have operational direction of all Reservists, while AFRC will maintain administrative control.

"This is not the traditional stand-alone associate squadron; it will be a classic associate with a high level of functional integration," Colonel Popovich said. "Our pilots and maintainers will be integrated with the active-duty unit, working side by side with their active-duty counterparts. There will be situations where active-duty members may supervise Reservists and where Reservists may supervise active-duty members. The combination of Reserve and active duty here will be as seamless as possible."

In years to come, PACAF will be pushing the F-22 TFI envelope even further at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, where the Air National Guard's 199th FS will fly the Raptor, and the active-duty 531st FS will be an associate squadron to it.

"I'm looking forward to leveraging all three components of our Total Force -- active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve -- to squeeze every ounce of capability out of these great fighters," said Gen. Paul V. Hester, PACAF commander, in a recent Air Force Print News story. "Our Total Force is critical in today's challenging environments, and I couldn't be more pleased that all three elements are going to be fully engaged in the Raptor business."

Maj. Brian Silkey, picked to be AFRC's first operational F-22 pilot, is scheduled to begin Raptor training at Tyndall AFB, Fla., this month. He will be assigned to Elmendorf's 302nd FS when it stands up in October. The command's first F-22 pilot, Maj. Randy Cason, is assigned to the 43rd Fighter Training Squadron at Tyndall, where he is an instructor pilot.

Eventually, the 302nd will be home to 18 F-22 pilots -- eight air reserve technicians and 10 traditional Reservists. The Reserve's 477th Maintenance Squadron at Elmendorf will comprise about 265 maintainers -- about 100 ARTs and 165 traditional Reservists. Counting support personnel, the Reserve's 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf will eventually be home to about 425 people.

"At full strength, Reservists will make up 25 percent of the F-22 operations and maintenance manpower at Elmendorf," Colonel Popovich said.

Reserve pilots will train at Tyndall and possibly flow through Langley AFB, Va., home of two F-22 squadrons assigned to the 1st Fighter Wing. Maintenance training is planned to take place primarily at Elmendorf. The Reserve is funding the building of three new facilities on the base -- a Reserve squadron operations facility, an aircraft maintenance squadron facility and a group headquarters building.

Three members of the Reserve team are already in place in Alaska. Lt. Col. Hubie Hegtvedt is commander of the Reserve's F-22 program integration office; Lt. Col. Michael Wood is the maintenance officer in charge; and Chief Master Sgt. Wade Shaw is the maintenance superintendent.

In addition, Col. Eric Overturf has been announced as the first commander of the 477th FG and is working tactical-level command, planning and execution issues with the 3rd WG headquarters at Elmendorf, and Col. Stephen Moore is in charge of operational planning and implementation at AFRC's 10th Air Force headquarters, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field, Texas.

Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, AFRC commander, has said on several occasions that the F-22 integration program at Elmendorf is one of the command's top priorities. He personally interviewed all of the key players on the Reserve F-22 team and is working in close conjunction with top PACAF leaders to ensure the program is a success.

"We're looking forward to being a part of this Total Force endeavor at Elmendorf," General Bradley said.

While PACAF's first Raptor has yet to be delivered to Elmendorf, the F-22 made a strong first impression in Alaska last year during Northern Edge 2006, a two-week joint service exercise.

"Throughout the exercise, we were able to see just how effective this jet can be integrating with multiple joint assets for a number of different missions," said Lt. Col. Wade Tolliver, commander of the 27th FS at Langley. The 27th FS deployed 12 Raptors, 18 pilots and 174 maintainers to Elmendorf for the exercise.

Code One, an airpower magazine produced by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. -- manufacturer of the F-22 -- reported that the aerial victory record for the Raptor in the first week of the exercise alone was an incredible 144-0. In addition, working with ground-based forward air controllers, the F-22s dropped 26 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, and all 26 were direct hits. The exercise marked the first time Raptor pilots had dropped munitions while working with forward air controllers in a close air support role.

"The F-22 is an incredible fighter," Colonel Popovich said. "It can't be matched by any known fighter in the world, and it makes all of our legacy aircraft more effective."

The Raptor has the ability to integrate with Air Force legacy aircraft such as the A-10, F-16 and F-15 through datalink.

"It takes all that technology, sucks in all that data from the battlefield, and passes that data to other legacy systems that do not have the stealth characteristics and do not have supercruise characteristics," General Hester said. "It positions them better, alerts them to danger better. ... and allows them to be more successful on the battlefield.

"And as it does those things for legacy systems inside the Air Force, it does those same things for legacy systems in other parts of our services, in our Harriers, in our F-18s and in the airplanes other services fly."

Supercruise is a term that refers to the capability of an aircraft to fly faster than the speed of sound without the use of afterburners. In addition to this capability, the Raptor has a radar signature the size of a small bird. In combat, the F-22 excels at both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat and is capable of performing the two missions at the same time better and faster than any of the current Air Force legacy platforms.

Langley received the last of its 40 F-22s in January, 20 months after receiving its first Raptor. In February, Raptors from the Virginia base deployed under the air expeditionary force cycle for the first time. Elmendorf will be the second base to receive operational Raptors; however, some of the F-22 aircraft will flow through Langley as the 3rd WG prepares for F-22 operations.

"Through a concept known as Ready Elmendorf, Alaska's aircraft and pilots will initially operate at Langley Air Force Base and take advantage of the 1st Fighter Wing's F-22 operations and maintenance experience," said Lt. Col. Robert J. Craven, chief of PACAF's F-22 Program Integration Office, in an Air Force Print News story. Once Elmendorf's F-22s begin the transfer from Langley to Alaska, the PACAF pilots and maintainers will transfer as well.

An F-22A Raptor stealth superfighter is seen in a hangar during a change-of-command ceremony for the 90th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, May 10, 2007. Lt. Col. Michael Shower assumed command from Lt. Col. Colin Wright. The F-22A Raptor will be replacing the squadron's F-15E Strike Eagles, which will being sent to Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. The 90th Fighter Squadron plans to officially accept the Raptor on Aug. 8, 2007. The jet in the photo is being used for maintenance training. (AP Photo/ Mark Farmer)

By searching "Yahoo! News" for F-15E, I found the following small AP photo.

Original caption:



If I´m right, it must be one of the nine EMD flyable test aircraft. Anybody who can/will tell us the serial number?

The use of new-delivered operational aircraft as maintenance trainers is absolute new for me. So I thought it must be a "deactivated" EMD flyable test aircraft, probably shipped to Elmendorf AFB aboard a C-5A Galaxy.

What will having C-17s and F-22s do for Elmendorf?

I think what we'll see here is more reliance on our Airmen here to deliver things. For instance, since the C-17 has a larger cargo capacity and longer range, we can take Army forces directly from here to any point on the earth, rather than having TDY C-17s landing here to pick up those guys. We'll be tasked with those types of missions more closely.

The F-22, because of its unique missions and capabilities with its speed and stealth, will probably be tasked a little more off station, than previous F-15s did for a specific mission. The Raptor is a knock down the door kind of aircraft. I think that is a reason you'll probably see it called upon once we become fully operational.

What does it mean to you to lead the wing during this transition?

I had a unique experience at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia when I was the operations group commander with bringing the F-22s on board there. I did that transition from the F-15s to the F-22s at Langley.

It is awesome to take the lessons I learned there and apply them here, so we don't make the same errors. We didn't make a lot of mistakes, because we had great leaders at the squadron level and in the maintenance group. I will take that same experience and apply it here.

Getting to see a wing transition to new aircraft is really exciting.