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Tyndall Operations Become Joint
12/08/08 - 09:34 PM
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Erin Hawley - bio
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Bay County, Fla:

Today, Tyndall Air Force Base witnesses a rare sight: Air Force and Navy pilots training side by side.

Tyndall Air Force Base is famous for it’s prime location for missile testing. Military pilots from the Navy and Marine Corps as well as pilots from around the world come to Tyndall to train. But today marked the first day of a new effort to join the air force and navy pilot training programs.

Today more than 80 Air Force and Navy pilots flew the first of many realistic combat joint training flights.

“This is the first time, you know the Chief of Staff Division for the Air Force says he wants to enhance our joint interoperability,” says Lt. Col. Pete Ford, Commander for the 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron, “And we’re doing that we have one Navy or Marine Corps unit come in to visit us per quarter this year, so that’s why you’re going to see if you’re in Panama City you’re going to see a lot more Navy action”

Lt. Col. Ford says combining data from naval flights with air force flights will help create more accurate information.

“Not only do they have the data from their missiles and their airplanes and their air crews,” Ford says, “But we have the data from our weapons, air crew and our platforms, too, so it’s pretty neat we get to use both of those to play against each other well.”

Naval operations officer Lt. Cmdr. Ian Burgoon says the Navy appreciates the opportunity to train with the Air Force.

“The environment, global war on terrorism, is a joint environment,” Lt. Cmdr. Burgoon says. “We do everything together. We fight together we train together.”

The weapons testing program is an opportunity for pilots to be tested on their ability to conduct air-to-air missions using live, active weapons. They say the training they get at Tyndall is incredibly important in preparing for combat.

Although this will be the first time for a joint program, the weapons testing program itself has been at Tyndall since early 1980s.

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