Posted on 10/12/2012 7:48:32 AM PDT by SandRat
FORT HUACHUCA — Residents of the fort, Sierra Vista and Huachuca City may see and hear a variety of aircraft conducting exercises in Fort Huachuca airspace Friday and Saturday night, a fort spokeswoman said.
Friday night, Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma will conduct a mock assault of Libby Army Airfield on the post with CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters, MV-22 Ospreys and a C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Missouri Air National Guard, according to post spokeswoman Tanja Linton.
The CH-53s and MV-22s will then lift off and conduct a similar mock assault at Hubbard Air Strip on the East Range, she said.
Once the training objective is met, all Marine Corps personnel and aircraft will return to Yuma, Linton noted, adding training is expected to occur in a two-hour window beginning around 6:30 p.m.
Saturday night, personnel in three Air Force C-17 Globemasters from Dover Air Force Base, Del., will conduct night vision goggle and night vision device training. the spokeswoman said.
The aircraft will fly in a formation and land at Libby Army Airfield with no airfield lights, Linton said. The aircraft will then lift off and conduct low level flying about 1,500 feet above the ground, over Hubbard Air Strip on the East Range, however, the aircraft will not actually land on Hubbard, she said, adding the Air Force training is expected to take place between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Linton said the fort’s 964 square miles of controlled airspace provide an ideal training location for a variety of military aircraft from other services.
“We are a major training facility for the Air Force,” she said.
Additionally, the high desert terrain mimics the current operational environment in Afghanistan, adding a degree of realism to training conducted on the fort, Linton said.
Last night I was watching the weather and noticed the radar showed a large area of rain over the gulf. The weatherman said it was not rain but chaff from a mission conducted by Eglin.
Does the area also simulate Iran?
Yes and also the dark side of the moon.
...Fly safe, Marines!
My hubby is a retired Marine Zoomie...and at one time was XO of MCAS Yuma! Yay Yuma...loved it there..and those Marine fliers are the best!!
Lol...not light or the lack thereof...but terrain, was the inference.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.