So it's your turn to go to Red Flag again, or perhaps it's the very first time. In either case, you should be fully prepared to "hit the ground running" when you arrive at Nellis AFB. trying to catch up on range procedures at the last minute in your hotel room isn't exactly my idea of a good time. In all seriousness, I have a few tips to offer in preparation for your next visit to Red Flag. Specifically, I'd like to go over how we, the 393rd Bomb Squadron Tigers, prepare for Red Flag in terms of safety, operating procedures and area orientation.

From the very start you need to understand that flying in the Red Flag arena is a demanding flying environment. It is the most dangerous environment short of actual combat and therefore, safety is paramount. Flying at 1.3 Mach at 200 feet above the ground doesn't give you much of a margin for error - and remember the ground has a PK of one. So again, the most important item to emphasize is safety. Have you operating procedures down cold. As soon as you receive the Special Instructions (SPINS), spend time going over the package. Talk to others who have been there if you don't understand a procedure. Our squadron spens time during each hanger flying meeting discussing these operating procedures in depth. The better you know the procedures, the easier it will for you to concentrate on other areas.

Another area to discuss is ego control. It's very easy to get caught up in the excitement of Red Flag and let your ego get in the way of common sense. We're at Ref Flag to learn and practice new techniques; if in that process we are "shot down" by an agressor we have learned something. So know your own limitations and don't let all that talk at the bar influence your common sense. Situational awareness is a key factor that deserves attention. You will be face with some of the most intense situations you have ever encountered. Between keeping an eye out for other aircraft (Nellis Control averages more than 400 sorties daily), evading the agressors, jinking around the theats, and attacking the target, you must be constantly aware of your environment. This situational awareness involves knowing where you are, what comes next and constantly being in control of your aircraft. For the pilots this means keeping your eyes outside the cockpit. The problem of optical illusion is a constant factor during Red Flag missions. For most of us the featureless desert gives a false sense of altitude. The flat terrain lacks definition and thus causes a depth perception problem. Such terrain features as sage brush versus trees may cause you to reduce altitude to make the sage brush look like the trees that we are all used to flying over. In the steep mountainous areas, a false horizon in rising terrain can cause an insidious illusion of a ridge line being lower than it actually is and thus not allow sufficient time to clear the top. An additional problem is presented by the time of day and the relationship of the sun. Certain positions of the sun cause mounatins to blend into shadows and hide the terrain. Late in the afternoon the sun may be directly in your eyes. These factors make it even more important to rely on our terrain-following radar capability.

Another area of particular interest is reviewing the lessons learned by crew who have been there before . Cross-talk of mistakes previously made might save you a little embarrasment, teach you better techniques or more importantly save your life. The "old heads" in our squadron have put together a slide show of a typical Red Flag deployment which is most beneficial to first time crews. After viewing the slide presentations you can also begin to develop a feel for what to expect in terms of terrain features. In addition to viewing these slide shows, each crew member plots his own map of the Nellis ranges. Of particular interest is the correct plotting of area boundaries and restricted areas. Since most of your flying will be "heads out of the cockpit", study the maps for prominent landmarks such as Coyote Peak, Student Gap, Mt Irish, Belted Peak, Cedar Peak and Mt. Worthington. These important landmarks will be a definite aid for orientation on your first mission across the Nellis Ranges. Plastic relief maps or "bumpies" are another helpful tool in area orientation. These maps help you visualize the high peaks and low flats, and allow you to select your route of flight in detail using terrain masking to your advantage. Once you have studied the range maps you should next become intimately familiar with the detailed departures and arrivals of Nellis AFB. These procedures were designed to allow the maximum flow of traffic into and out of Nellis AFB in minimum time. So both crewmembers need to take the time and discuss these procedures. A very helpful technique is for the radar navigator to assist the pilot in calling out required altitudes and headings duirng departures and arrivals, especially in three ship formation. After indepth study of these departures and arrivals, we schedule each crew for a one and one-half hour simulator to practice these procedures.

Hopefully these ideas will help your unit safely prepare for its next Red Flag deployment. Remember all the time you spend preparing at home will make your operation run that much smoother and safer. Be sure to keep a log of lessons learned to share with the new people in your unit. These tips apply to all units participating in Red Flag. I certainly haven't covered everything that you need to prepare for and I know you will have some things to add to my list. The flying at Red Flag is totally unique and very demanding, and I'm sure you'll feel challenged by the variety of the mission and the realistic training. Enjoy your next trip to Red Flag and remember above all else, fly safe!

This story was written by Brian Arnold from the 393rd BS and published in Combat Crew. It is reproduced here with the author's permission.

(Top photo by Butch Kennedy)