WESTFIELD – Over 100 personnel and approximately 10 F-15 Eagles from the 104th Fighter Wing have deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor – Hickam, Hawaii, to participate in exercise Sentry Aloha, a two-week large scale training exercise hosted by the Hawaii Air National Guard.
The focus of the training will be on large scale mission scenarios that allow our F-15 pilots to practice aircraft collaboration with F-22 Raptors in a simulated combat environment, according to Maj. Eric Armentrout, 104th Fighter Wing Sentry Aloha Project Officer. F-15 and F-22 crews will plan, brief and debrief as one unit –similar to a real world combat environment.
This Sentry Aloha is the largest ever attempted, with aircraft from four different units flying, said Chief Master Sgt. Doug Awana, Sentry Aloha Non-Commissioned Office in Charge, Hawaii Air National Guard.
Additionally, support personnel will get invaluable training deploying to and operating from a new environment.
The 104th Fighter Wing is equipped with the F-15 Eagle. One mission of the 104th is Aerospace Control Alert (ACA), providing armed fighters ready to scramble in a moment’s notice to protect the Northeast from any airborne threat. The unit is responsible for protecting a quarter of the nation’s population and one third of the Gross Domestic Product.
