The 522nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Andersen AFB, Guam, just helped defend the island’s airspace and intercept a simulated threat with their F-16 Vipers. MSgt. Art Webb reports that Operation Jungle Shield provided a quick-reaction exercise, testing the ability of the deployed Viper pilots, crew chiefs, and ground controller interceptors to handle alert scramble operations. Capt. Wyckliffe Furcron, 522nd EFS project officer for the exercise, said the exercise “helped to keep personnel in a ready mindset.” Working with the F-16s were two KC-135 tankers of the 173rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, used to simulate the threats.
The U.S. sent Air Force F-16s over central Syria in a show of force following the Dec. 13 killing of two U.S. Army Soldiers and one American civilian interpreter by a gunman linked to the Islamic State group.
