Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing

by Tom Clancy

  THE 366TH WING ORGANIZATION

  The 366th Wing is a unique organization in the USAF, optimized for rapid deployment and immediate entry into combat. As such, it resembles the alert units of the former Strategic Air Command (SAC) more than the other components of Air Combat Command (ACC). This is not to say that the other combat wings of ACC are incapable of fast reaction. The performance of every USAF unit rushed to Kuwait in the fall of 1994 is proof of that. But the 366th is designed for, and training for, deployment today. In the time it has taken you to read this book, the 366th could assemble a task force—or “package”—of aircraft that could be wheels up and on their way to a crisis spot almost anywhere in the world. The wing’s claim is, “Integrated airpower, ready to go, on Day One!” As such, the 366th resembles a small independent air force, or one of the U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wings. Consider the following table:

  366th Wing Squadron/Aircraft Capabilities

  The 366th has some capabilities that no other wing-sized unit in the Air Force provides. These include:• It’s the only combat wing combining fighters, fighter bombers, bombers, and tanker aircraft into a single integrated combat unit.

  • It’s the only combat wing with its own integrated command, control, and communications/intelligence (C3I) element, capable of acting as a mini-JFACC and generating its own Air Tasking Orders (ATOs) for up to five hundred missions per day.

  • It’s the only combat wing which can plug detachments of other U.S. air units (USAF, USN, USMC, or U.S. Army), or even other countries’ air units, into its C3I capability.

  The officer who commands this collection of units is a senior brigadier general with a minimum of one wing command tour before coming to the 366th. The officers and enlisted personnel have been handpicked—chosen for their previous achievements in the USAF. And the aircrews in the flying squadrons have a high proportion of combat veterans from Desert Storm and Just Cause. Many are graduates from senior military schools like the Weapons School at Nellis AFB, Nevada, and the Air Command and Staff College. Even the young members of the line and maintenance crews are picked for their skill at making more out of less; for that philosophy is at the core of what the 366th is trying to do.

  First a quick note about personnel. A normal tour of duty in a USAF unit is anywhere from two to three years. Military units are always in transition, and the 366th is no exception. When I first visited Mountain Home in April 1994, I arrived just as the cycle of rotations and replacements was beginning en masse for the founding members of the new wing structure. What follows is a “snapshot” of the 366th at that time, just as the wing was preparing for its trip to Nellis AFB for Green Flag 94-3. Where possible, I’ll try to tell you what happened to people after that, and who might have replaced them. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 366th Wing.

  366TH HEADQUARTERS SQUADRON

  The top of the 366th Wing organization is the Headquarters Squadron at the base/wing headquarters building on Gunfighter Boulevard. On the second floor is the commander’s office, and in the top spot is Brigadier General David J. “Marshal” McCloud. The first time you meet him, you know why everyone calls him Marshal. Part of it is his build, well over six feet tall and lean as a rail. The other part is his reputation for leadership and action. Two previous wing command tours, quite unusual in the USAF, have given him ample experience to handle this job. He’s flown just about every kind of tactical aircraft in the USAF inventory. He’s flown everything from F-117A Night Hawks (from his time with the 37th TFW), to F-15Cs (from his command tour with the 1st TFW at Langley AFB, Virginia); and now he flies a new F-16C Block 52 (with the 389th FS) that bears his personal marking as the 366th’s “Wing King.” Flying skills are important for an air leader; they confer credibility in the eyes of the flight crews and establish a bond based on shared experience. And familiarity with a wide variety of aircraft is an asset not only because he may have to command the 366th Wing in combat, but also because he may have to act as a totally independent JFACC. In the early stages of a crisis, he could well find himself commanding attached units from the USAF or other U.S. armed services, or even from other coalition or host nations. And Dave McCloud would be flying combat missions, too. A commander, in his words, “should lead from the front.”

  The commander of the 366th Wing at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Brigadier General David “Marshal” McCloud, USAF. Official U.S. Air Force Photo

  Other functions in the headquarters squadron include the Public Affairs Office (PAO). Usually this is an office that sends press releases about the Airman of the Month to hometown newspapers, and shepherds visiting VIPs on tours of the base. But the 366th PAO is additionally responsible for managing a major new program designed to supplement and replace the existing Mountain Home bombing range at Saylor Creek, near the Snake River Gorge to the east of the base. Saylor Creek is adequate for training in basic weapons delivery, but it lacks the necessary area and target arrays for conducting composite-strike-force training—the 366th’s specialty. The new range complex needs to be close enough to Mountain Home AFB to allow strike-force training any time it is needed. So far, the proposal has encountered environmental and culturally oriented opposition from federal and local bureaucrats. In fact, the proposal by the 366th and other USAF units would involve no dropping of live ordnance, and the land would actually be better protected than it is now, in the hands of the Department of the Interior.

  Another major project run out of the headquarters squadron is the consolidation and building program which will bring the 34th BS from its present base at Ellsworth AFB to Mountain Home. This requires building additional ramp space and hangars capable of holding and servicing the big B-1Bs operated by the 34th.

  The rest of the wing includes a series of functional groups, with specific roles in keeping the wing operable and combat ready. These include:• The 366th Operations Group—Controls the flying squadrons and the range control squadron for the Wing.

  • 366th Logistics Group—Handles the various logistics, maintenance, supply, and transportation units in the 366th.

  • 366th Combat Support Group—Controls the combat engineering, communications, and services.

  • 366th Medical Group—Provides a range of medical and dental services for the wing and its dependents.

  Each group must operate with great autonomy if the wing is to function properly. Let’s look at each in detail.

  The author with Brigadier General David “Marshal” McCloud, the commander of the 366th wing. John D. Gresham

  366th Operations Group

  The 366th Operations Group runs the flying squadrons of the wing. In April 1994, this unit was led by Colonel Robin E. Scott. A big man with a broad face and a marvelous sense of fun, he had his first job in the wing as commander of the 391st FS, the 366th’s F-15E Strike Eagle squadron. Behind Scott’s jolly smile is a mind that thinks all the time about getting the wing into combat faster. Every military unit has a mission briefing that is routinely delivered to visiting VIPs. When Scott gives the briefing on the 366th Wing concept of operations, he does it with passion and lots of direct answers to questions. The big question is how the wing would get to where it might have to fight in a crisis. The answer involves a lot of packaging and planning. Another question for the Operations Group is how the wing will fly and fight when it gets to the location of the crisis. The 366th may have to fight for up to a week without reinforcement or outside support. This is a tall order for only a handful of aircraft and aircrews, and it will require the wing leadership to make all the right decisions at the right time, and in the right order.

  366TH OPERATIONS SUPPORT SQUADRON. The 366th Operations Support Squadron (OSS) is the staff organization that runs the five flying squadrons of the Operations Group for Colonel Scott. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Gregg “Tank” Miller, it is the key to the whole 366th CONOPS plan. In addition to interfacing with the other groups of the wing, the 366th OSS provides the wing’s ability to generate its own daily Air Tasking Order
s (ATOs). ATOs furnish the script for everything that happens in the air, from the time and altitude for a tanker to establish a track to refuel other aircraft, down to whether the Army can fire artillery or guided missiles through a particular chunk of airspace at a particular time. One reason for the success of Operation Desert Storm was the quality of the ATOs built by General Horner’s CENTAF staff. But the 366th has to do this job with a lot fewer people (forty-two vs. several hundred for the CENTAF staff), and less equipment. On deployment, the 366th OSS forms what is known as the 366th Air Operations Center (AOC), which brings its own tent city to operate from a “bare bones” base. Some good tools help make up for the lack of personnel. The main tool is the Contingency Tactical Air Control System (TACS) Automated Planning System, or CTAPS. This is a network of computer workstations that ties together a series of databases on intelligence, terrain, known targets, and aircraft capabilities, enabling the 366th AOC staff to rapidly build and distribute ATO plans to everyone in or attached to the wing. Each day’s complete ATO (which can be several hundred pages of text) can be transmitted almost instantly via land line, printed hard copy, disk, or even a satellite communications link like the popular suitcase-sized Hammer Rick system. During Desert Storm hard copies had to be hand-carried out to CVWs in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf by airplane each day. Now almost every military air unit in the United States and allied nations has CTAPS-compatible equipment that allows them to receive and use an electronic ATO.

  The process of building a day’s ATO begins several days before it is executed. The Air Operations Center team is split into two twelve-hour shifts, with part of each shift working on the ATOs to be executed two and three days later, and the rest working on the ATO to be executed the next day. Once the ATO has been blessed by the AOC chief and the local JFACC (such as General McCloud), it can be distributed to the flying squadrons for execution of the next day’s missions.

  The 366th’s ability to generate ATOs is limited by the number of personnel that can be dedicated to the task. The estimate is that the 366th AOC staff could churn out ATOs for about five hundred daily sorties—comparable to a major exercise like Red/Green Flag (and about 10% to 20% of what the CENTAF staff generated during the 1991 Gulf War); and they could probably sustain this level of output for a week. After that the forty-two people on the team would doubtless be exhausted and require reinforcement. By that time, hopefully, a big, well-equipped CinC staff, like the 9th Air Force/CENTAF from Shaw AFB, South Carolina, would have arrived to relieve the 366th.

  It is important to remember that the 366th Wing is designed as a “fire brigade,” to deal with a crisis while more substantial forces are mustered and sent to assist. This tends to draw some grim humor from the members of the wing. They know exactly what the odds might be in a major crisis like Iraq or Iran, and that casualties might be the price of the job.

  389th Fighter Squadron

  The 389th FS, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Wood, is the 366th Wing’s F-16 squadron, and they are equipped with brand-new Block 52D F-16C Fighting Falcons. The 389th dates back to May 1943, when it was formed as part of the original 366th Fighter Group. Since that time, a 389th FS has usually been a part of the 366th’s complement of units. Aircrews from the 389th were credited with twenty-nine air-to-air kills (twenty-three in World War II, six in Vietnam).

  The official badge of the 389th Fighter Squadron. U.S. Air Force

  Currently, the 389th is equipped with eighteen Primary Authorized Aircraft (PAA), which refers to the combat strength of the unit. The actual total of aircraft controlled by the 389th FS (or any other USAF unit) is usually about one third greater than the PAA, and includes a small number of two-seat trainers (to maintain proficiency and certifications), as well as other F-16Cs that are either in the depot/maintenance pipeline or represent spares. In addition, the 366th is staffed at about 1.25 aircrew per flight position per aircraft, meaning that combat missions may have to be flown by wing support staff, who are rated as aircrews.

  The F-16s of the 389th have been greatly “tricked out” with the addition of new systems designed to improve their capabilities over the original F-16s assigned to the 389th when it was formed. These include:• The latest Block 50/52 software to allow the full use of the APG-68’s radar modes.

  • The capability to fire both the AIM-120 AMRAAM and AGM-88 HARM missiles.

  • The addition of an ASQ-213 HTS pod for every aircraft in the squadron.

  If you suspect, from this list of capabilities, that the 389th is working hard to get into the business of suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), you would be right on target. With the retirement of the F-4G force, there is no way that ACC can guarantee the commander of the 366th a detachment of Wild Weasels in the event of an emergency deployment. And with the APG-68/ AIM-120 combination, the F-16s of the 389th can also take some of the air-to-air load off the F-15s of the 390th, when barrier combat air patrol (BARCAP) and strike escort missions are required. Of course, the 389th can also do traditional air-to-ground deliveries of iron AGM-65 Maverick missiles, as well as cluster bombs, if required. In short, the 389th FS provides exactly the kind of SEAD, air-to-air, and bombing capabilities the 366th commander will require to react to a fast-changing crisis. It is the wing’s utility infielder.

  390th Fighter Squadron (The Wild Boars)

  Formed at the same time (May 1943) as the 389th, the 390th is the 366th’s air superiority squadron. Equipped with F-15C Eagles, the 390th, known as “the Wild Boars” (the 390th squadron ready room/bar has to be seen to be believed!), has a long and colorful history. This includes 35.5 air-to-air victories (33.5 in World War II, two in Vietnam) gained by 390th aircrews, as well as the only service in Operations Desert Shield/Storm by a 366th unit.

  The unit was “stood up” as an F-15C squadron in June 1992, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Larry D. New, with twelve PAA aircraft. He was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Peter J. Bunce, on March 28th, 1994, just in time to take the squadron for Green Flag 94-3. Along with the new commander came the news that the 390th, together with its 366th sister F-15E Strike Eagle squadron, the 391st FS, would be enlarged to eighteen PAA aircraft, the same size as the 389th. This enlargement was a result of several exercises such as Bright Star and Northern Edge which indicated that the twelve-aircraft Eagle squadrons just did not have the critical mass to sustain a week of unreinforced operations. By late 1995, the first of the additional aircraft and crews should arrive to join the Wild Boars.

  The official badge of the 390th Fighter Squadron, the “Wild Boars.” U.S. Air Force

  The Boars are the shield of the 366th Wing. It is a classic air superiority unit, with the range and firepower to clear the skies for the rest of the wing’s aircraft. Their basic F-15Cs have been updated to provide improved capabilities, including:• The newest models of the AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, as well as improved PGU-28 20mm cannon ammunition.

  • The full F-15C MSIP improvement package, including the complete APG-70 radar package.

  • The Joint Tactical Information Data System (JTIDS) data-link system.

  The 390th is the only fighter squadron in the USAF that is fully equipped with the first-generation JTIDS terminals, and thus it can rightly claim to have the best “eyes” of any fighter squadron anywhere in the world. With JTIDS, it can work in tactical formations and situations previously unimaginable to fighter commanders. For example, the JTIDS data links allow each Eagle driver to pass along to any other JTIDS-equipped aircraft (E-3 Sentry, F-14D Tomcat, Tornado F-2, etc.) not only data about the targets detected by the F-15’s onboard radar (position, altitude, course, heading, etc.), but also the aircraft’s stores information (fuel, missiles, ammunition) and other critical tactical information. This means that a formation as small as two ships can cover a huge volume of airspace. This capability is especially critical for a fire brigade air unit like the 366th Wing, which can ill afford any kind of loss as it hangs on during what may be a week o
f unreinforced combat operations in a crisis.

  391st Fighter Squadron (The Bold Tigers)

  The “Bold Tigers” of the 391st FS are the heavy war hammer of the 366th Wing. No other strike aircraft in the world today provides an air commander with the power of the F-15E Strike Eagle, and the 391st gives General McCloud and the 366th Wing a weapon with the killing power of Excalibur. Formed by Lieutenant Colonel Robin Scott (now a full colonel and the 366th Operations Group commander) in March 1992, the 391st is now led by Lieutenant Colonel Frank W. “Claw” Clawson, USAF, who took command in June 1993. The 391st is a big squadron from an aircrew standpoint (with two aircrew per aircraft). Like the 389th and 390th FSs, the 391st was formed in mid-1943, and has fought with the 366th through most of its history. Along the way, the aircrews of Bold Tigers have collected some seventeen kills (so far, all in World War II). In the Strike Eagle community, the 391st is the most coveted assignment in the Air Force.

  The official badge of the 391st Fighter Squadron, the “Bold Tigers.” U.S. Air Force

  “Claw” has a big job managing the most powerful unit in the 366th Wing. The squadron’s capabilities include:• The AAQ-13/14 LANTIRN FLIR/targeting system.

  • Delivery of Paveway LGBs and GBU-15 E/O guided bombs.

  • Delivery of the AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground family of missiles.

  • The same AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, and M-61 Vulcan gun air-to-air armament as the F-15Cs of the 390th FS.