JBER Public Affairs
11/18/2013 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- An F-22 Raptor flightline expeditor jogs outside, breaching the wall of frigid night air. His focus narrowed on ensuring that his team has the tools and parts they need to fix the jets. Planning the next step in the process and communicating with the crew is crucial to completing the tasks efficiently. He and the other Airmen on his shift have rarely taken off their reflective belts in the last three weeks while working the midnight shift. There is no crowd to cheer them on, but their work will elicit a different type of roar in the morning.
This is just one of the functions more than 2,300 Airmen of the 3rd Wing and 477th Fighter Group perform to train and equip F-22s supporting the Pacific region. Twenty four hours a day, they maintain readiness as part of the Air Force's first F-22 total force team.
"About half of the 477th Fighter Group partners with the 3rd Wing to execute the F-22 mission," said Air Force Col. Tyler Otten, 477th FG commander. "Our primary contribution is experience and longevity. The 477th Fighter Group has been able to leverage those attributes by leading the standup of the Advanced Programs Office and filling critical roles in the operation--to include operations officer, Aircraft Maintenance Squadron chief, Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge, fighter squadron weapons officer and many other duties in support of the overall shared mission."
This shared responsibility has led the units through three Pacific Command Theater Security Package deployments, numerous Red Flag-Alaska exercises and innovations like the C-17 Globemaster/F-22 rapid response capability.
From the basics of training to the refined level of deployments, the pilots, maintenance and support personnel have partnered to carry out the F-22 mission.
"We continuously seek opportunities to collaborate with our Total Force Integration teammates to solve operations and maintenance challenges associated with fifth-generation fighters," said Air Force Col. David Nahom, 3rd Wing commander.
An example of that capability is the Increment 3.1 upgrade, which enhanced ground mapping and targeting capability for Alaska F-22s. Though new technology is a force multiplier, the units also maximize home station readiness by combining active duty and Reserve work schedules.
"When it comes to the readiness of the unit and our ability to go to war, it is not simply about having more pilots," said Air Force Capt. Michael Frye, a 525th Fighter Squadron flight commander. "Rather, our combat capability in the Raptor has everything to do with quality of pilots that we put into the air, something that TFI allows us to do at a moment's notice."
"Traditional Reservists are absolutely critical in allowing the squadron to quickly plus up our manning in the event of some sort of contingency operation," Frye said.
It has been six years since the active duty and Reserve F-22 units in Alaska began this partnership. What began as a TFI has now become the normal way of doing business.
"The Reservists work side-by-side with the active duty folks every single day," said Chief Master Sgt. Neal Raben, 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron superintendent. "You can't tell them apart. We count on them to have enough people day-to-day to accomplish the mission."
"The biggest benefit of TFI is leveraging the vast amounts of experience that these guys bring to the fight," Frye said. "I find that we rely quite heavily on the Reserve component to fill critical roles in our day-to-day operations."
When the first F-22 landed at Elmendorf Air Force Base, now a part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in August 2007, Air Force Gen. Paul Hester, then Pacific Air Forces commander, said "The unmatched capabilities of this superb airplane are simply unbelievable. It furnishes our Airmen with unrivaled air supremacy and provides us with the most lopsided and unfair advantages ever seen in the air power age."
Advantages of the F-22 are amplified by the TFI as the units focus on the core AF mission, "Fly, Fight, and Win."
"Ultimately, what brings the Total Force team together is our shared mission," Otten said. "The active and Reserve component members form a cadre of great Americans serving their country by providing air power for furthering U.S. national objectives. It is awesome to watch."
"Every day I see active and Reserve Airmen partnering to implement their innovative ideas," Nahom said. "We have to continue to leverage our respective strengths to bring more combat capability to the warfighter."
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