On the prowl: VAQ-142 participates in RF-A 14-1

by Senior Airman Zachary Perras
354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

5/23/2014 - EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- It's not every day Eielson hosts counterparts from the U.S. Navy, but the distinguished look of the EA-6B Prowler is a welcome sight during RED FLAG-Alaska.

Electronic Attack Squadron 142 Gray Wolves from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, Wash., recently deployed several Prowlers to Eielson to participate in the first RF-A of the year, 14-1.

"We don't get to see these large-force exercises very often outside of deployments," said Navy Lt. Candice Nunley, VAQ-142 pilot. "Participating with so many other squadrons was a huge opportunity for us to learn and experience things we normally wouldn't be able to."

Learning in an Air Force environment has been a unique experience, Nunley said. During RF-A, both Air Force and Navy participants learned the ins and outs of how to operate smoothly with each other.

"It's very beneficial if we were to ever find ourselves in a situation trying to use these tactics together abroad," Nunley said. "It expanded our knowledge base and was a good addition to our training experience."

Although a Navy unit, VAQ-142 is no stranger to Air Force procedures: Maj. Shalin Turner, a former B-1B Lancer weapons system officer, has been assigned to VAQ-142 as a Prowler electronic countermeasures officer for the past two years.

"The Air Force doesn't work with Prowlers very often, so we were teaching what [the Prowler's] capabilities were and how it should be utilized," said Turner. "We're used to doing things in a different way, so we were learning at the same time. There was definitely a lot of learning all around."

The Prowler, with its advanced electronic countermeasures capability, flew both as a "red" and "blue" force aircraft during RF-A, providing different training scenarios for each side.

"It was enlightening to see how the Aggressors planned to train the blue fighters," said Navy Lt. Matthew Galamison, VAQ-142 ECMO. "The joint aspect of it was good to experience, and I think that was something a lot of us needed. It's good to broaden our horizons."

Turner will be the last Air Force WSO to fly in the Prowler, giving him a distinctive opportunity to bring knowledge back to the Air Force once his assignment is finished.

"The Navy is the only service with fast electronic attack - the Air Force has the EC-130, but it can't integrate into a strike package," Turner said. "My role is to learn those electronic attack capabilities and bring it back over when I'm done."

VAQ-142 will transition from the Prowler to the EA-18G Growler over the next year, so as the last potential large-force exercise for VAQ-142's Prowlers, Nunley said RF-A was a great experience.

"It gave us a different perspective being Navy in an Air Force world," she said. "This may be the last opportunity for the squadron and the last one for the Navy Prowler in general to participate in a large-force exercise, but it was awesome for us."