MUÑIZ AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Puerto Rico —
The 156th Wing, along with four other Air National Guard wings, two Air Force Reserve wings, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other government agencies have partnered to execute the Operation Hoodoo Sea, an agile combat training exercise led by the Virginia Air National Guard, which occurred on the southeast coast of the United States during the first week of May.
Airmen assigned to the 156th Wing engaged with the 192nd Wing to coordinate and support logistics and airfield operations for F-22 Raptors and KC-135 Stratotankers at Muñiz Air National Guard Base while providing command and control support from the 141st Air Control Squadron to control the skies.
“The strategic location of the 156th Wing is ideal to support major commands and the Department of Defense in the implementation of National Defense Strategy 2022,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Evaristo Orengo, Commanding Officer of the 156th Wing. “We will continue to integrate and support our sister units and their cargo, combat and supply aircraft while providing superior relevance to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and its Airmen worldwide.”
The objective of Operation Hoodoo Sea was to assess and validate minimum force elements using multi-role Airmen to support a “reduced” deployment of over 90% manpower and typical equipment.
“Airmen with experience in a subset of tasks will be challenged to see how they can fit into different tasks in austere environments,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Lawrence Dietrich, commanding officer. of the 149th Fighter Squadron and exercise commander. “At the end of the exercise, if a KC-135 crew chief takes a post-mission intelligence report from an F-22 pilot and relays the location of the threat to a displaced bomber force at the beyond the horizon while a C-17 loadmaster helps execute a combat turn on an F-22, so we’re exceeding our expectations for this exercise.”
Units participating in the exercise tested innovative solutions for agile and secure communications, portable aerospace ground equipment, aircraft concealment and survival kits.
“We’re testing a new ladder that collapses and stores inside the F-22 cockpit,” Dietrich said. “This reduces the forward staging requirement of equipment and people for cockpit entry and exit to zero.”
This exercise, along with previous exercises supported by PRANG, such as US Southern Command’s Exercise Forward Tiger recently, provides a unique opportunity for our Airmen to practice field training with various airframes and implement concepts of multi-capable airmen as well as agile combat Employment.
“We are proud to be part of these large-scale exercises and to see how our Airmen represent the Puerto Rico Air National Guard with their professionalism, proving that our combat capabilities align with National Security Strategy initiatives.” , Orengo said.
To see the complete photo album of this exercise, visit the following link: