NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -- The familiar cry of “fight’s on” echoes over the radio and the “battle” ensues. Blue Forces take to the sky with their key objectives and plans B, C and D on hand, because in battle, nothing ever goes as planned. Red Forces follow, equally skilled and trained with nothing but bad intentions for Blue Forces.
Their mission: attack on all platforms as they try to steal, sabotage and destroy the mission. Their location: the Nevada Test and Training Range, or NTTR, home to the U.S. Air Force’s premier exercises and training operations.
This is an example of a typical exercise that takes place at the NTTR and encapsulates the impact they have on military operations.
Red Flag, an air-to-air combat exercise for pilots, and Green Flag, a ground combat training exercise, are two of the largest training operations in the Department of Defense. The NTTR enables training opportunities like these, while also providing a practice home to the U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration team and daily flying operations for squadrons based at Nellis AFB.
“Our ability to provide the full-spectrum of battle to exercise participants and other users makes the NTTR one of the most ideal locations to develop and grow military pilots,” said Larry Prince, NTTR chief of the projects branch. “These training operations are not only vital to those who participate in them, but necessary for the overall success of the Air Force’s warfighting mission.”
The NTTR provides a full and detailed picture of who the enemy is and what they present. This challenges U.S. and coalition forces to figure out real-time problems, while honing warfighting techniques.
As the free world’s largest contiguous air and ground space available for peacetime military operations, the NTTR provides the U.S. and its allies with critical training and testing opportunities that is unmatched throughout the DOD, echoed Prince.
“You learn more being shot down once over the NTTR during an exercise, than you learn from 10 successful missions,” Prince said. “The lessons you learn here keep you from spilling blood in combat, and that’s something that can’t be quantified.”
Every day military leaders reach out to the NTTR with their requirements for training, testing or evaluation. Then, the NTTR goes about providing the manning and infrastructure to support those needs.
“Last year we had 33,000 range users,” said Master Sgt. Jeremy Cunningham, NTTR operations support superintendent. “Whether we support large-force exercises involving NATO nations, to singular operations to improve combat readiness, the range has the flexibility to accommodate most varieties of training.”
Those requests equate to approximately 40,000 sorties yearly.
“The range prepares people who are about to go into harm’s way,” said Roger Christensen, NTTR environmental office chief. “I truly believe the more we train, the harder we train and the more realistic that training is, results in less sacrifice, and less lives lost in battle. I never want us to lose sight of that, and that’s why the NTTR is so vital to the overall mission.
Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a three-part series highlighting the Nevada Test and Training Range.