Vermont Air Guard 1st ANG F-35 Unit Green Mountain Boys

[jetblast16]

https://vtdigger.org/2019/10/01/winoosk ... ining-run/

Got an idea for you folks ... don't move near an airport if you don't like plane noise.

[mixelflick]

Amen.

Now we just need more of our Reps to write the same letter, given F-15C basing in other states (like MA). We have F-15C's that are responsible for defense of the entire Northeast here, and I'd feel a LOT better knowing F-35A's were flying that mission.

Nothing against the F-15C, but there's simply no comparison. Given their much better range, F-35A's should be able to cover a lot more ground. Or stay on station longer. Or find/prosecute more targets. The list goes on and on..

[Corsair1963]

A love call arrived from Florida. Replace F-15CD with F-35?

https://rutherford.house.gov/media/pres ... ghter-wing

Rutherford, Rubio Renew Push for F-35s at the 125th Fighter Wing
September 26, 2019 Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Rutherford (FL-04) joined Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representatives Matt Gaetz (FL-01), Michael Waltz (FL-06), and Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-25) to renew the effort to bring the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Jacksonville’s 125th Fighter Wing. In the letter, Rutherford urged Acting Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan to include Air National Guard installations that operate F-15 C/D Eagles to be considered in the upcoming basing rounds. The Air Force is currently deciding which Active Duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard wings will be eligible for F-35 basing. The 125th Fighter Wing has twice been a finalist to receive the aircraft.

“Northeast Florida is home to world-class military installations like the 125th Fighter Wing in Jacksonville,” said Rutherford. “The homeland defense mission of the 125th Fighter Wing is critical to our national security and requires the most capable aircraft. Because of this, I am hopeful that the Air Force will consider the 125th in their upcoming F-35 basing decisions.”

Honestly, they make a good case against the F-15EX and for the F-35A. As the majority of the F-15C Fleet is with the ANG and are assigned the Air Defense Mission for the Continental United States.

Clearly, a mission that should be filled by the best aircraft available! (i.e. F-35A)

[Corsair1963]

https://vtdigger.org/2019/10/01/winooski-residents-shaken-by-f-35s-first-training-run/

Got an idea for you folks ... don't move near an airport if you don't like plane noise.

Honestly, the USAF should announce they're considering moving the F-35's from Vermont and/or Wisconsin to other Air Bases that seriously want the aircraft!

Then let the critics hear the "WRATH" of their local communities over the loss of countless jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue....(billions over time)

IN SHORT LET THEM TAKE THE HEAT....

[spazsinbad]

The Green Mountain Boys Welcome the F-35 "On September 19, 2019 history unfolded as the 158th Fighter Wing became the first Air National Guard unit to receive the F-35 Lightning II." https://www.acc.af.mil/ [no.8]

Green Mountain Boys Welcome First Two F-35As 19 Sep 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAJGxWRIlMk

[spazsinbad]

F-35A The Green Mountain Boys History ANG 158th Fighter Wing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7yUEpdZR9M

The Green Mountain Boys [No.7]
25 Nov 2019 ACC USAF PR

"The Vermont Air National Guard has a storied history, going all the way back to the Revolutionary War with the famed Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. From rising flood waters at home to short-notice deployments, the Airmen at the 158th Fighter Wing are always ready. With the Vermont Air National Guard being the first Air National Guard unit to receive the F-35 Lightning II, the Green Mountain Boys will continue their legacy at the 158th Fighter Wing."

Source: https://www.acc.af.mil/

[spazsinbad]

ELEMENTAL FORCES [7 page PDF of article attached below]
Dec 2020 Rob Coppinger

"A Vermont National Guard pilot talks to Rob Coppinger about their transition from the Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon to the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II...."

Source: AirForces Monthly Magazine December 2020 Issue 393

[XanderCrews]

https://vtdigger.org/2019/10/01/winooski-residents-shaken-by-f-35s-first-training-run/

Got an idea for you folks ... don't move near an airport if you don't like plane noise.

Vermont is becoming more and more of a ghost state anyway. Maybe they got a fresh injections of New Yorkers, with muh virus but they are having a hard time getting people to live there, and their population is aging away.

They were doing advertising a while ago enticing people to live there by giving tax breaks and such (jokes on you, the taxes will be back with a vengeance once that grace period expires)

[doge]

____[Edit]____
Ouch! Post was duplicated. I'm sorry for the inconvenience...

[spazsinbad]

Same story above earlier in another thread here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=53178&p=451515&hilit=graduates#p451515

[mixelflick]

Don't you just love the last gasp, "it's a social justice issue" card she tried playing?

The biggest threat to American's way of life isn't Al Queda, ISIS or even China. It's these idiots, who have been taught in our schools America is the real bad guy, because we're a "racist, sexist, homophobic country". Forget the fact if it wasn't for white males you'd be speaking German right now.

You know what's really great about America? Our airports.

There's one in virtually every state, with a plane leaving (sometimes multiple flights per day) for the God forsaken sh!thole country these people came from. Don't like it here? Fine, go back to where you came from.

[blindpilot]

https://vtdigger.org/2019/10/01/winooski-residents-shaken-by-f-35s-first-training-run/

Got an idea for you folks ... don't move near an airport if you don't like plane noise.

As a point of interest .. The J-57 with water (Old KC's) was/is the loudest engine ever. When I was assigned to Beale, I took my wife and kid in the car and drove into the mountains until I could not hear the AFB any more. Ended up in a small town, Penn Valley, just short of Grass Valley. It was a nice quiet place to live.

BP

[spazsinbad]

FOURTEENTH STATE LIGHTNINGS: New Generation Wild Weasels [5 page PDF of article attached]
2022 USAF Yearbook

"USAF Yearbook spoke with the vice commander of the 158th Fighter Wing the first F-35A Lightning II squadron in the Air National Guard....

...Red Flag
In August 2021, the 158th FW deployed to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada to participate Exercise Red Fag 211-3 which served as its capstone event to assess both the pilots and the maintainers' ability to accomplish the mission and achieve combat capability certification. It was the first edition of Red Flag with a large component of fifth-generation aircraft assigned to the Blue and Red Air sides of the battle. Aircraft and units participating were F-22s from the 27th FS based at Langley, and F-35A aircraft assigned to the 4th FS at Hill, 134th FS at Burlington, the 308th FS at Luke and the 421st FS at Hill.

Discussing Red Flag participation, Col Finnegan said: ''We played on the blue and red sides. Part of the reason for having so much fifth-gen participation was to be able to put some fifth-generation aircraft on the red side to increase the capability of the threat the blue side faced. Some of our pilots performed very well. We were able to give the team lead [previously referred to as the mission commander] to two first lieutenants. They were both active-duty airmen, who were sent to Burlington for training. They led the entire mission and had to execute the entire vul at a very high level. They did exceedingly well and were recogrnised for that."

Command Chief Master Sergeant Jeffrey Stebbins, 158th Fighter Wing Command Chief said: "Airmen of the 158th Fighter Wing stood out as top performers during this advanced Red Flag exercise. They trained in a 24-hour shift model, during some of the most extreme weather conditions they've faced to date, with temperatures up to 115° Fahrenheit."

Recalling the unit's participation in Exercise Red Flag 21-3, CMSgt Deep said: "We had to adjust on the fly. We had a few issues with the aircraft's low-observable coatings which kept them on the ground. Wear and tear had depleted the aircraft's signature. Such repairs take the aircraft down for a certain amount of time based on the required cure time. Also, we weren't planning to run a 24/7 shift, but it proved necessary and our NTT [nose-to-tail maintenance] airmen performed a lot of maintenance during the overnight."

When the 158th FW finished Red Flag 211-3, the wing was effectively signed off as combat ready."

Source: USAF Air Power Yearbook 2022

[spazsinbad]

MOAR: https://www.airforcemag.com/vermont-ang ... irst-time/

Vermont F-35s to fly Europe air policing missions
05 May 2022 Wilson Ring, AP

"SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — The first overseas deployment of the Vermont Air National Guard’s F-35 fighter jets will have the pilots and their aircraft patrolling the skies of Europe during one of the most tense periods in recent history.

More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, their equipment and eight F-35s are now in Europe, where the pilots will fly what are called enhanced air policing missions along NATO’s eastern flank to monitor the area for intrusions by Russian aircraft....

...“We’re there to defend NATO,” said F-35 pilot Lt. Col John “Rocky” MacRae, a squadron commander within the Vermont Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing. “We’re not there to to be aggressive or start anything. We’re there to posture in defense of NATO and support our allies.”...

...NATO says the enhanced air policing [eAP] mission is part of a broader series of measures introduced after Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. It involves a continuous presence of fighter aircraft and crews who are ready to react to possible airspace violations.

On April 29, NATO reported jets scrambled in the preceding days to track and intercept Russian aircraft in the Baltic and Black sea regions. The Russian aircraft, which often do not transmit a radio code indicating their position and altitude, do not file flight plans, nor do they communicate with air traffic controllers, NATO says.

The alliance said that the Russian aircraft never entered NATO airspace and that “the interceptions were conducted in a safe and routine manner.”

The Vermont aircraft now in Europe are replacing F-35s from Hill Air Force Base in Utah, which arrived in Europe in February, just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine....

...The Vermont guard began sending its personnel to Europe last week to take part in the air policing mission. Eight Vermont F-35s arrived Monday at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, after making the trans-Atlantic flight from their base at the Burlington International Airport.

Vermont guard officials won’t say where their planes will be patrolling in Europe. But the fighters from Utah operated from Estonia’s Amari Air Base, Lithuania’s Siauliai Air Base, along the Baltic Sea, and Romania’s Fetesti Air Base near the Black Sea, the Air Force says...."

Photo: "F-35 Lightning II Aircraft assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington Air National Guard Base, prepare for takeoff, April 13, 2022, in Burlington, Vt. (Staff Sgt. Cameron Lewis/U.S. Air National Guard via AP)" https://www.defensenews.com/resizer/jdc ... format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/mco/V6GIAFYBPVE2TF6ZBYJJFGB5J4.jpg

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/news/your-a ... -missions/

[spazsinbad]

Green Mountain Lightnings [12 page PDF attached]
Jun 2022 Tom Kaminski

"This year, Vermont’s 158th Fighter Wing made history as the first Air National Guard wing to be declared combat ready with the F-35A. Tom Kaminski outlines its history and fifth-generation transition...."

Photo: "Fifth-generation ‘Green Mountain Boys’: A four-ship of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs of the Vermont Air National Guard’s ‘Yellow Scorpions’ pierce the blue skies of New England during a sortie on April 2, 2021 Jim ‘Hazy’ Haseltine"

Source: AVIATION NEWS Jun 2022