End of an era: 65th AGRS set to deactivate

by Airman 1st Class Thomas Spangler
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

9/26/2014 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- After almost a decade of unyielding service, the 65th Aggressor Squadron will be deactivating.

Since being reactivated on Sept. 15, 2005, the 65th AGRS has helped provide air combat training for military members from the different branches as well as foreign allies.

The Aggressor program originally came into existence in the fall of 1972 with the creation of the 64th Aggressor Squadron. It was created because of the high air-combat loss-rate during the Vietnam War. After the creation of the squadron, instead of pilots training against each other with similar tactics and aircraft, the aggressor squadron's role was to fly aircraft and employ tactics similar to those used by U.S. adversaries for U.S. pilots to train against. This in turn would better prepare U.S. and allied aircrews for future conflicts.

"We've been able to provide training to thousands of Airmen through Red Flag, through USAF Weapons School, future weapons school graduates, as well as the weapons school instructors that are teaching the course twice a year," said Lt. Col. Gregory Wintill, 65th AGRS commander.

During exercises such as Red Flag, the 65th AGRS acts in an agressor role by replicating the tactics and techniques of potential adversaries.

Wintill stated, the 65th not only trained Airmen, but also assisted with the test of different aircraft, including the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F/A-18 Hornet by acting as an adversary force for those aircraft to train and test their weapons systems against.

"It's been a great asset for the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center to be able to have the F-15 Eagles here as an aggressor squadron for almost a decade now," Wintill said.

The mission and responsibilities held by the 65th AGRS will be solely filled by the 64th Aggressor Squadron, which along with the 65th AGRS, falls under the 57th Adversary Tactics Group.

"The 57th ATG as a whole works together as a team," said Capt. Jeremy Allen, 65th Aggressor Squadron chief of safety. "They will still have the 64th AGRS to continue the flying portion of the aggressor mission."

With the 65th AGRS deactivating, their assigned F-15 Eagles will be leaving the aggressor role and reassigned to various Air National Guard bases. The 64th AGS will continue their aggressor mission with the F-16 Fighting Falcon.

"The F-15 brings strengths that will be missed, but the F-16 has been flying the aggressor role for a long time now and it will continue to do that to meet the Air Force's needs," Allen said.

The pilots who are assigned to the 65th AGRS will continue their mission as aggressors, with a limited number of F-15 aircraft, under the 64th AGS until March 2015. From there, they may continue to fly or take another path depending on what the USAF requires of them.

Despite the fact that the 65th AGRS will no longer be a part of Nellis or be present to train the thousands of Airman that come through for training, the 64th AGS will be more than ready to fill the void and shoulder the responsibility.

"Fiscal times are tough for the country as a whole, and when you find yourself in that situation you have to make sacrifices and you have to look closely at priorities and make tough decisions," Allen said.