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Nevada Air Guard completes successful Green Flag exercise

April 11, 2018 (by 2nd Lt. Emerson Marcus) - The Nevada Air National Guard's 192nd Airlift Squadron garnered a series of awards as the lead unit during the Green Flag Little Rock (GFLR) training exercise last February.

The Nevada Air National Guard’s 192nd AS garnered a series of awards as the lead unit during the Green Flag Little Rock (GFLR) training exercise last February. [USAF photo]

The international, joint-training included military personnel from the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, Air National Guard, the Canadian Royal Air Force and the United Arab Emirates.

"It was a seamless joint-training experience," said Lt. Col. Ricardo Bravo, Mobility Air Forces mission commander for the exercise and member of the 192nd Airlift Squadron, 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard. "This is the first time the 152nd Airlift Wing has worked as the lead unit for any flag exercise."

"This is a truly combined operation," said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Peavy, 34th Combat Training Squadron survival, evasion, resistance and escape specialist. "We have Air Force, Army, and Canadian Forces. It's a pretty awesome experience."

According to the after action report prepared by the 34th CST: "The lead unit (192nd Airlift Squadron, Nevada Air National Guard) did exceptionally well leading the Mission Planning Cell to success."

That leadership was evident in the awards given at the end of the exercise.

Aircrew of the 192nd Airlift Squadron nearly swept the Top Cat Award for best overall crew, voted on by the 34th CTS and C-130 instructors:

• Aircraft Commander: Lt. Col. David Chauvin, 192nd Airlift Squadron
• Co-pilot: 1st Lt. Mike Boehler, 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard
• Navigator: Capt. Alexander Rodriguez, 192nd Airlift Squadron
• Field Engineer: Staff Sgt. Brett Gilmore, 192nd Airlift Squadron
• Load master: Tech. Sgt. Justin Bennet, 192nd Airlift Squadron
• Load master: Airman 1st Class Mateis Maehler, 192nd Airlift Squadron

The 192nd's crew also won the An Loc Award, named after the Vietnam War battle in 1972 that included a robust C-130 resupply effort for South Vietnamese citizens. The award is given for the best single aircrew drop within 25 yards. The 192nd recorded the best drop of the exercise: 11 yards from target.

At one point during the exercise, the 192nd aircrew was "shot down" and forced to escape capture in a Louisiana forest. After receiving rendezvous coordinates, the crew traveled 1.5 miles to its landing zone where they called an emergency supply airdrop from a Canadian C-130J aircraft.

"As a squadron we've participated in Green Flag each year for the past seven years," Bravo said. "But our participation has been that of an augmenting unit. We have gained expertise through multiple Green Flags, Red Flags and other joint exercises through the last eight years on top overseas deployments. This has built our operations group into a premiere tactical airlift unit that can now excel as the lead wing at flag exercises."


Courtesy of 152 Airlift Wing/Public Affairs

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