3rd Wing applauded for aeronautics achievements

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Carbajal
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  "I am confident my 'Arctic Warriors' from Alaska are poised and ready to demonstrate strength in the Pacific at a moment's notice," wrote Gen. Gary North, Pacific Air Forces commander, as he endorsed the 3rd Wing for the Pacific Air Forces' 2009 Collier Trophy.

The trophy is awarded for greatest achievements in aeronautics to improve performance, efficiency, or safety of air vehicles. The 3rd Wing will be PACAF's nominee for the Collier Trophy for their employment of the F-22 Raptor.

"The Collier trophy is a prestigious honor awarded only to the most deserving recipients for the greatest flying achievements," said Col. Tom Bergeson. "Previous winners include Lockheed Martin, the Boeing Corporation, the Hubble Telescope Recovery Team, and the Spaceship One team. The 3rd Wing has a long list of tremendous accomplishments, and it is an honor just to be nominated."

Bergeson said the honor goes beyond the efforts of the F-22 units.

"Over the past year, the entire Wing came together to ensure we were ready for every F-22 mission tasking that came our way," Bergeson added. "We have world-class infrastructure, maintenance, and support that is the foundation for our mission success. We proved that readiness time and again in our Theater Security Package deployments, the Operational Readiness Inspection, and multiple exercises such as Red Flag and Northern Edge.

During 2009, the 90th and 525th fighter squadrons totaled more than 1,100 sorties while deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam, during the first-ever F-22 deployment.

The F-22 units also participated in Red Flag at Nellis AFB, Nev., and Red Flag-Alaska. During the largest joint Alaskan exercise, Northern Edge, the 3rd Wing hosted the largest air-to-air exercise in history with more than 9,000 participants. In addition to their deployments and exercises, the wing still manned its Alaskan NORAD Region mission by standing alert against foreign adversaries.

While deployed to Guam, the 525th Aircraft Maintenance Unit discovered unidentified water intrusion problems caused by intense tropical rains and humidity levels. In conjunction with industry subject matter experts, 3rd Wing maintainers implemented changes to the flight control system that enabled the aircraft to safely operate in tropical environments. These methods were disseminated throughout the Combat Air Force and are now utilized by every F-22 unit in the world.

After a Class E mishap, the wing identified a major design flaw of the F-22 oxygen system. After identifying the cause, the wing recommended a modification to the F-22 oxygen regulator, updated hypoxia training for F-22 pilots, and a sent a change to the flight manual.

The improvements of the world's greatest air-superiority fighter were impressive, said North.