DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The 355th Wing executed exercise Bushwhacker 19-08 to increase lethality and readiness in support of the Dynamic Wing. This exercise, held primarily at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, focused on this by simulating austere and contested locations for both the rescue and attack missions of the wing.
355th Wing rescue Airmen and assets joined forces with Airmen from the 66th Rescue Squadron, a geographically separated unit at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and 355th Security Forces Squadron Airmen at Dynamic Forward Adaptive Base- Rescue which simulated a forward operating base located on the East Range training grounds at Fort Huachuca. DFAB-R, a spoke of the exercise’s main operating base, was dedicated to practicing and enhancing the abilities of the 355th Wing's rescue mission.
“DFAB-R gave the 563rd Rescue Group Airmen an outstanding and realistic training opportunity that is very hard to replicate from home station,” said Col. Jason Pifer, 563rd Rescue Group commander.
DFAB-R had limited resources, to include only one generator for the 50 personnel at the spoke, simulating a real-world scenario of forward adaptive basing, which helps the Airmen stay ready to operate in high-threat environments.
“The operations resources are supposed to be as limited as possible by design,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. J.D. Corless, 563rd Rescue Group HC-130J pilot. "We want to see just how little we need to operate in any given environment."
Rescue operations were separated from the main operating base in order to simulate potential situations for real world scenarios.
"Exercising our rescue skills through implementation of the DFAB-R helps us better prepare to execute our primary rescue mission not only in an austere environment, but also in a theater that may be contested and require our max flexibility," said Pifer.
Airmen assigned to the 355th SFS were also at DFAB-R, providing them valuable experience to help Davis-Monthan continue to lead the Air Force in dynamic force employment and operational readiness.
“The closer we are to the fight, the quicker we can save someone and that's what combat search and rescue is all about,” said Corless. "This is taking the tactics and operations we run under and molding them into what is the Dynamic Wing."
The spoke focused on ensuring the rescue assets and Airmen of Davis-Monthan can provide agile and autonomous forces that can execute at speeds that outpace enemy planning cycles to create a United States military advantage. The 355th Wing does this while proving the Dynamic Wing concept through Bushwhacker 19-08 and continues to lead the Air Force in operational readiness as Airmen learn their role in the joint fight.