Liberty Bells deploy to Michigan for combat training

  • Published
  • By Capt. Anthony Cannone
  • 32nd Flying Training Squadron executive officer
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Vance's 32nd Flying Training Squadron was deployed to the Combat Readiness Training Center in Alpena, Mich., Aug. 21-24. Forty-seven pilots, 22 T-1A Jawhawk aircraft and nine contractor maintenance folks participated. 

The deployment began at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 20, when 32nd FTS members entered a simulated Bravo alert. Aircrew and maintenance personnel reported to the base at 6:30 a.m. the next day. 

Capt. Kevin Seay, the deployment officer-in-charge, welcomed everyone. His assistant, Capt. Ben Peterson, briefed weather, special instructions, the air tasking order and simulated mission intelligence and threats. 

After the briefings, deployment packages were handed out and crews began stepping to the 22 T-1 jets required for the deployment. Lt. Col. Darrell F. Judy, the 32nd FTS commander, flew the first T-1 to take off at 9 a.m., followed by more aircraft every six minutes until 10:12 a.m. 

All of the jets successfully made their way the 830 plus miles to the Alpena CRTC, crossing five states, the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan. 

The deployment included air-refueling, precision landings and an airdrop that was called off due to low ceilings. 

Winning the flying competition was the Vance team of Navy Lts. Jackson McFarland and Jon Reutter. Lieutenant McFarland is a prior E-6 pilot and now works in the 71st Operations Support Squadron. Lieutenant Reutter is a prior P-3 pilot and is currently an assistant flight commander. 

They have over 3,900 flying hours and 850 combat hours between them. Lieutenant McFarland credits his copilot for the victory. "Lieutenant Reutter's carrier pilot background gave him the skill required to place a jet moving at over 120 mph on an area half the size of my front lawn," he said. 

"It also gave him the motivation to land as hard as they do on the carrier -- but hey, no one was grading the firmness of the landing -- and no limits were exceeded," Lieutenant McFarland said. 

The deployment wasn't limited to the flying competition. The squadron's first assignment instructor pilots took on the major weapon system instructors in the annual laser tag competition. 

In a surprising turn of events, the MWS instructors defeated the younger FAIP opponents. Having led his IP force to victory in laser tag, Lt. Col. Brian Hellinger, 32nd FTS director of operations, said, "As to be expected, the older more experienced warriors swept all combat scenarios leaving the younger folks slightly disappointed to say the least." 

On Aug. 24, the squadron launched the jets and headed back to Vance. With nine CSC maintainers working around the clock while deployed, the 32nd FTS had a successful mission rate of 100 percent with 44 out of 44 launches. 

"A 100 percent mission rate is an incredible off-station feat, a testament to the knowledge and skill of the contracted maintainers at Vance," said Captain Seay, the officer responsible for orchestrating the deployment. "The professionalism and dedication of our CSC maintainers towards the deployment has helped Alpena become a positive 32nd FTS tradition. 

"It's also a great opportunity to not only conduct instructor development in an off-station environment, but also show our FAIPs and contracted workers a brief glimpse of the camaraderie of a unit when it goes on the road," said Captain Seay. 

"This deployment was an excellent opportunity for mentorship and renewing our warrior ethos," said Colonel Judy. "Not only do we complete our required continuation training, we do it in an unfamiliar environment with a compressed flight schedule from an air tasking order. 

"The aggressive schedule is a challenge for crew chiefs and flyers alike, and this year everyone stepped up and really did an outstanding job making the mission happen," Colonel Judy said. "Thanks again to everyone who participated and worked towards making this deployment such a success."