Press Release
☷Vermont Airmen Test Agility During Multistate Exercise
National Guard ( By Press Release office)
Feb 10,2024
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Around 260 members of the Vermont Air National Guard ' s 158th Fighter Wing and other Airmen and civilians from across the country took part in the ACE exercise Maple Thunder from January 22 to February 3 . ACE , short for ' agile combat employment , ' is a concept that has been discussed in the Air Force for a few years now . The exercise aimed to improve the way the Air Force conducts operations , with the 158th Fighter Wing already implementing this model for almost a year . Maple Thunder focused on sharpening skills such as simultaneously flying combat sorties from multiple locations and recovering and restoring an air base . Airmen were deployed to austere environments outside their usual operating areas to practice the forward deployment of forces . The exercise took place at various sites , including the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah , Georgia , and the North Auxiliary Airfield at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina . Other units and civilian entities joined the 158th Fighter Wing to simulate a deployed situation . One of the challenges faced during Maple Thunder was refueling F - 35s in harsh or unfamiliar locations , which required the establishment of a Forward Area Refueling Point ( FARP ) . C - 130 Hercules aircraft from the Rhode Island Air National Guard ' s 143rd Airlift Wing , the Connecticut Air National Guard ' s 103rd Airlift Wing , and a KC - 130J from the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234 provided FARP capabilities . This was the first time a FARP was performed with F - 35s . Michael Blair , who is the commander of the 158th Operations Group , said that being able to quickly take off and reach the job without wasting time going to a farther base is really beneficial . Other participants in the Maple Thunder event included the 232nd Combat Communications Squadron from Abston Air National Guard Station in Montgomery , Alabama , the 282nd Combat Communications Squadron from the 104th Fighter Wing in Westfield , Massachusetts , a KC - 130 from the U . S . Marine Corps , and an electric aircraft called ALIA provided by Beta Technologies in South Burlington , Vermont through AFWERX , the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force . Mulgund also mentioned that the lessons learned from this exercise will help improve ACE capabilities , doctrine , and training to better prepare for an air fight against a peer adversary .
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