MAFEX takes flight, hits the mark

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Members of the 58th Airlift Squadron and the 54th Air Refueling Squadron from Altus AFB, recently participated in the biannual Mobility Air Force Exercise sponsored by the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

More than 60 airlift and tanker aircraft from across the country participated in the MAFEX along with more than 25 fighter aircraft from Nellis AFB.

"This exercise featured units from Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Force Reserve Command, Air National Guard, Pacific Air Command Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe, and Air Education and Training Command," said Maj. Christopher Mazzei, 57th Weapons Squadron MAFEX project officer C-17 lead from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. "It is the largest such mobility exercise of its kind in the world, and provides an invaluable training opportunity for AMC to develop large force tactics, techniques and procedures."

Altus provided five C-17 Globemaster IIIs and five KC-135 Stratotankers for the large-scale exercise. The C-17s accomplished air-drop and air-land missions during the exercise, while the KC-135s provided air refueling support.

The intent of the MAFEX was to integrate Mobility Air Forces, Combat Air Forces, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets with the U.S. Army to plan and execute an insertion of U.S. Army Airborne forces into an objective area. All units originated from different locations and amassed in accordance with the ground commander's intent within the Nevada Test and Training Range near Nellis AFB.

"MAFEX was a great opportunity to put our tactical skills to use," said Capt. Scott Frazier, 58th AS formal training unit instructor pilot. "As instructor pilots, our tactical abilities are rarely challenged in this way. This exercise gave us the opportunity to test our ability to execute the mission."

After the exercise, there was a debriefing that provided a learning experience for all of the participants.

"We were able to iron out details and we learned from our mistakes," Frazier said. "These lessons learned will only make us better prepared to execute a real-world mission of this magnitude. It was a humbling experience to be part of a large-scale exercise such as MAFEX and I'm proud to say that we have a lot of very intelligent, tactical experts in the Air Force that are committed to excellence and mission success."