In front of an F-15C Eagle, Gen. John D.W. Corley explains the importance of aggressor squadrons in fighter pilot training following a reactivation ceremony Thursday for the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base. Photos by John Gurzinski.
Adversary Tactics Group commander Col. Terrence O'Shaughnessy accepts the 65th Aggressor Squadron banner during the ceremony at Nellis Air Force Base.
When the next Red Flag air combat training exercise takes place this month in the skies over Nellis Air Force Range, the new fighter jet on the block will be the 65th Aggressor Squadron's tan camouflaged F-15C Eagle playing the role of the enemy.
In a ceremony Thursday marking the reactivation of the legendary 65th, a unit with roots steeped in success during World War II, the Air Force's vice chief of staff, Gen. John D.W. Corley, said today's fighter pilots need to maintain the edge they have through training against any potential adversary regardless of the United States' advantage in technology.
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"We can't rely on superior equipment always winning," he said. "Training will make sure we know the enemy."
Befitting the occasion, Corley made his remarks in the hangar of the Air Force's newest weapon, the F-22A Raptor, which was designed to replace the nation's aging fleet of F-15s.
But on Thursday, the hangar served as a temporary home for a camouflaged, F-15C Eagle, emblazoned with the name of the 65th's commander, Lt. Col. Larry Bruce. Covers on the cockpit seat and intakes bore a yellow, hammer-and-sickle insignia inside the outline of a red star -- the symbol of the United States' enemy in the Cold War, the Soviet Union.
After the ceremony, Corley explained that despite the acquisition of roughly 180 Raptors, the bulk of the nation's air defense for the time being will continue to rely on the F-15s, F-16s and Navy F-18 Hornets over the next decade.
That's one of the reasons, Corley said, that it is important to remember "you can't stand still in this business. Somebody's always trying to outdo you."
He said Raptors will eventually take the Air Force to the next level, but "while we're waiting we have to keep our individuals trained," he said.
"Training is the answer. The aggressors are what gives it to you," Corley said.
Thursday was the second time in three years that an aggressor squadron was reactivated at Nellis Air Force Base. In October 2003, a unit of F-16s, the 64th Aggressor Squadron, was reactivated to portray the enemy.
The 65th squadron will eventually have two dozen F-15s while the 64th squadron will eventually have an equal number of F-16s, said Col. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, commander of the Adversary Tactics Group at Nellis.
Known first as the 65th Pursuit Squadron in 1940 and two years later as the 65th Fighter Squadron, the squadron flying P-40s and P-47s racked up three distinguished unit citations for actions over North Africa, Sicily and Italy during World War II.
The 65th Aggressor Squadron last served at Nellis from 1983 through 1989. The squadron flew during a brief stint at Nellis in 1969-'70 when it was known as the 65th Fighter Weapons Squadron.
