[MilCom] Warrior MOA activity 14 Nov 05

[unanmatt at aol.com]

Hi all,
 
Got a few hours in while working at home today.
 
1044L - "NOMAD 31" OA/A-10A probably of 47th FS 917th Wing BD  in WARRIOR MOA 
on 259.150 working SHOTGUN and BUBBA flight in the Oakdale  area of 
Louisiana. Weather hampering ID of ground targets. This freq is usually  only used for 
the POLK REDLEG IMPACT AREA about 50 miles away.

1136L - "BOZ 1-2" OA/A-10A 47th FS 917th Wing BD on CLAIRBORNE RANGE  298.600 
working with RANGER, departed area on 226.5 TRB Barksdale

1211L - "STARGATE" on POLK WOLFMAN CRE freq 364.900 talking with  WOLFMAN, 
said he'd coordinated with a B-52 out of Barksdale, callsign DEATH 01  for a 
radio check on this freq at 1830Z but had heard nothing

1323L - "COUGAR 21" prob C-130J 48th AS Little Rock on POLK APP  123.700. I 
think he departed SELF airfield to the north of the main Polk  Airfield, RTB 
Little Rock

1500 to 1600L - 259.150 very busy with "FLEX" an OA/A-10A probably  from 47th 
FS 917th Wing BD in the WARRIOR MOA working NOMAD, MAMOU 01,  MAMOU 03, HYDRA 
81. A/A's used by some of these flights were 141.675 and  142.900. Sorry, no 
tie-ups.

Below is some info about the Little Rock  C-130J's that are supposed to be in 
the area this week. I think I caught one  using the usual C-130 callsign used 
while working in the Fort Polk area,  COUGAR. Anyone have any a2a's for the 
48th AS or Little Rock C-130's in  general?
 
Enjoy,
 
Matt Ellis
Alexandria, Louisiana
 
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. (AFPN) -- 
As part of the second phase  of the C-130J Hercules qualification test and 
evaluation, the aircraft will fly  airdrop and formation-drop operations later 
this month. 
 
The aircraft from here will take part in an exercise at the Joint Readiness  
Training Center at Fort Polk, La., from Nov. 13 to 17. The evaluation will 
test  the aircraft's warfighting capabilities. 
 
"The JRTC exercise is the graduation exercise for the airplane-high  mobility 
operations, 24-hour surge operations and interoperability with the Army  
equipment and personnel generated from Little Rock," said Lt. Col. Mike  Brignola, 
who will conduct the evaluation. 
 
The colonel is chief of global mobility test division at the Air Force  
Operation Test and Evaluation Center at Edward Air Force Base, Calif. He said  the 
C-130J will become a fully operationally capable airframe when it successful  
completes the test. 
 
"This is another step toward the goal of arming our warfighters with the  
unmatched capability of the C-130J," Colonel Brignola said. "We do a  
soup-to-nuts evaluation, write a report on it and (Air Mobility Command)  releases the 
capabilities that tested successfully." 
 
The testing includes a main operating base phase made up of local training  
scenarios, tactical missions and sorties with other C-130 airframes. The final  
part of the evaluation includes a deployment to Eielson Air Force Base, 
Alaska,  for cold-weather testing. 
 
The 48th Airlift Squadron here is the lead unit for the test, providing  
planes and people. The squadron will continue training C-130J aircrews during  
testing. 
 
"We're doing two totally separate roles out of this squadron," said Maj.  
Dave Flynn, the squadron's qualification, operations, test and evaluation  
commander. "While we're performing the OTE we're also flying with new students  who 
are coming through to get qualified on the C-130J." 
 
Phase one of the qualification, operations, test and evaluation began in  
1999.