Operation Seawolf, an exercise in joint agile maritime operations, brought 114th Fighter Wing Airmen to Naval Base North Island in January and February.
“This training with the Navy, Marines, and other Air Force units allows us to train on things we really can’t do back in South Dakota,” said Lt. Col. Eric Cleveringa, 175th Fighter Squadron commander.
Operation Seawolf allowed airmen to work in an unfamiliar and austere environment to put their skills to the test by accomplishing the flying mission with a smaller team. It benefited pilots, maintainers, and other 114th Airmen by implementing Multicapable Airman training.
On top of MCA being implemented, Agile Combat Employment was also accomplished by sending a small team of airmen to a different location to launch and recover jets.
“ACE allowed us to flex our ability to operate under a very constrained environment with limited equipment, limited personnel, and really force airmen to learn new ways to adapt and overcome some challenges,” said Senior Master Sgt. Andy Mager, 114th Maintenance Group equipment maintenance flight chief.
Another objective of this training exercise was to find confidence in uncertainty.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty with this training deployment: the weather, the jets, our workspace,” said Cleveringa. “Ultimately coming out of this, the 114 fighter wing members have developed confidence in working in austere locations while working with multiple services and facing weather and maintenance issues.”
