Total Force teams compete in Hawaii Turkey Shoot

by Senior Airman Orlando Corpuz
154th Wing Public Affairs

11/19/2014 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR HICKAM, Hawaii -- Pilots, maintainers, intel, and ground controllers from the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Wing and the active duty 15th Wing competed in a Turkey Shoot here Oct. 28-30.

The Turkey Shoot is a competition where teams face-off in simulated air mission scenarios. This year's Turkey Shoot mission scenario involved F-22s providing escort to C-17s simulating an air drop.

Teams where evaluated on how well they performed while completing the mission.

In all, three total force teams each comprised of four F-22s, a C-17, a KC-135 and intel personnel from the 154th and 15th Wing and ground controllers from the 169th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron competed.

"A Turkey Shoot here is unlike any other location because all of the air assets are collocated," said Capt. Michael Ball, 15th/154th Weapons and Tactics chief and Turkey Shoot project officer. "This training is invaluable because the coordination with other airframes is not something that they have to work through during routine training."

The scenario developed by Ball and the team in the Weapons and Tactics shop was complex and allowed for the F-22 mission commanders to get creative and tackle the scenario.

"The winning team was ultimately successful because of their team work and ingenuity," said Ball. "Each time we hold a Turkey Shoot the teams perform better which in turns helps us to create more difficult and challenging scenarios for the next years Turkey Shoot."

The term "Turkey Shoot" dates back to the World War II era, during one of the most massive air battles, the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" or officially, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, took place.

The conflict was the largest aircraft carrier battle in history, involving nearly 1,800 aircraft.  Due to the ease of defending a multitude of Japanese attacks, American pilots started referring to the battle as the "turkey shoot."  The battle decimated what remained of the Imperial Navy's cadre of trained pilots, and effectively eliminated Japanese carrier aviation for the duration of the war.

The top performers in the competition were announced during a 15th Operations Group commander's call on Nov. 14.

Best Overall Team
Team 3
Capt. Marvin Wong
Maj. Peter Liggieri
Capt. Ryan Miller
Lt. Col Chris Hagood
Staff Sgt. Marcus Hudson
Capt. Justin Lechner
Capt. Kevin Brooks
Capt. Derrick Tetzman
Capt. Brandon Chang
Senior Airman Caleb Williams
Maj. Troy Unebasami
Capt. Lee Saguibo
Master Sgt. Michael Paragas
Master Sgt. Michael Samson
Capt. Hannah Quintana
Senior Airman William Hopeau

Best F-22 Team
Lt. Col. Kristof Sills
Lt. Jeffrey Braden
Maj. Peter Liggieri
Capt. Austin McIntosh

Best C-17 Team
Capt. Justin Lechner
Capt. Kevin Brooks
Capt. Derrick Tetzman
Capt. Brandon Chang
Senior Airman Caleb Williams

Best KC-135 Team
Capt. Ryan Miller
Lt. Col. Chris Hagood
Staff Sgt. Marcus Hudson

Best Ground Control Intercept Team
Maj. Diana Gregory
Maj. Michael O'Donnell
Master Sgt. Fel Feria
Senior Airman Adam Bray

Best Intel Team
Capt. Hannah Quintana
Senior Airman William Hopeau