144FW Headed to Checkered Flag 21-1 Published Nov. 4, 2020 By CMSgt. Chris Drudge 144th FIghter Wing FRESNO AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. -- Airmen from the 144th Fighter Wing departed for Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida October 30 to participate in Checkered Flag 21-1. The exercise is a large-scale aerial exercise designed to integrate the F-15 Eagle, a fourth-generation fighter, with fifth-generation aircraft to enhance the mobility, deployment, and employment capabilities of Air Force aviators and maintainers. During the two week exercise, the 144th Airmen and aircraft will be tested in all phases of air-to-air combat operations in an unrestricted, realistic environment. “Checkered Flag is amazing,” said Col. Greg Moseley, 325th Fighter Wing commander. “It is one of the largest air-to-air exercises that the Air Force holds, and there is no better location to execute training on this scale than at Tyndall.” The 144th FW deployed approximately 94.7 short tons of cargo, 155 operations and maintenance Airmen and 9 F-15C Eagle fighter jets to train in real-world simulated scenarios for this two-week long exercise. The 144th FW partnered with Airmen from Alaska, Utah, and Idaho allowing multiple commands to participate in realistic scenarios where squadrons will employ Air Force combat tactics. The exercise will also help keep everyone mission-capable by testing their ability to rapidly respond and deploy to crisis situations around the world. Exercises like Checkered Flag help the Joint Force test and develop its capabilities and build confidence in multi-platform interoperability which affords the participants daily training opportunities to better deter and defend against any threat. Aircraft participating in Checkered Flag 21-1 are also involved with Combat Archer, the designated name for the U.S. Air Force’s air-to-air Weapons System Evaluation Program under the 83rd Fighter Weapons Squadron. The combination of the exercises will save resources and provide a unique training battlefield for a variety of aircraft and support personnel from different Air Force units.