Operation Snowbird with The Green Mountain Boys!

Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ, Jan. 20 to Feb. 4, 2007.

In January 2007, the Green Mountain Boys left their home state to deploy to 'sunny' Arizona for Operation Snowbird. When they departed Burlington on January 20, the last thing they expected to find in Tucson was cold temperatures and snow! For those not familiar with the word 'Snowbird', this word is used to describe Canadians and people from the Northeastern or Midwestern United States who spend a large portion of the winter in warmer locations such as Arizona, Florida or elsewhere along the Sunbelt region of the Southern United States. For the men and women serving in the United States Air Force and the Air National Guard in particular, Snowbird has a very similar meaning. Operation Snowbird is a National Guard Bureau program located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and supported through the 162nd Fighter Wing based at Tucson IAP. Operation Snowbird was established in 1975 as a winter deployment site for Northern tier Air National Guard flying units enabling 16 squadrons to deploy for two weeks of training between October and May each year. A typical deployment package will consist of 10 to 12 aircraft, 20 to 24 pilots and 100 to 115 support personnel. Located on four acres of property adjacent to the north ramp, the compound consists of four buildings; snowbird operations, maintenance control complex and two support facilities.

From January 20 until February 4, 2007, the 158th Fighter Wing from the Vermont Air National Guard deployed 209 members and 10 aircraft to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona to train under Operation Snowbird and prepare itself for an upcoming AEF deployment in late 2007. According to Major Dan Finnegan, Project Officer for this deployment, the unit's main objective was to get the entire wing ready for its AEF commitment later this year. It was an outstanding opportunity to deploy and drop different weapons in an environment like the one they will operate from later this year. During the deployment, the Green Mountain Boys expanded close to 130,000 pounds of ordnance on the Barry Goldwater Bombing Range in Southwest Arizona. This range offers the challenge of flying low level between and around mountains as well as a wide variety of tactical targets, such as ennemy airstrips, tanks, buildings and else. Most flights to the range consisted of two- or four-ship missions with different loads and mixed configurations. Working with Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTACS) on the ground was an integral part of the training as well. JTACs are highly trained USAF personnel who coordinate appropriate air power support to ground troops when needed.

A secondary objective for the 158th Fighter Wing while deployed to Operation Snowbird was to give incentive rides to some enlisted member of the unit. "We were able to get a two-seater out here and fly a good number of incentive rides to say 'Thank you' to the enlisted men and women who really put up a lot of hard work back from our previous deployments." said Maj. Finnegan. "Of course, we don't have a two-seater back in Vermont and we had to borrow one from a neighboring unit." added Maj. Finnegan. In addition to borrowing an F-16D from the 174th Fighter Wing at Syracuse, NY for the incentive rides, the Green Mountain Boys also had two F-16s from the 122th Fighter Wing at Fort Wayne, IN. Both the 158th and 122nd Fighter Wing deploy together as part of AEF and support each other as needed during training at home.

On February 4, the Green Mountain Boys returned home better trained and prepared to fulfil their role and mission as part of an Air Expeditionary Force. Best of luck to the Boys for their upcoming deployment!

Special Thanks to the Green Mountain Boys for making my visit the most enjoyable one.

More photos from Operation Snowbird! (Click here for more.) (All photos by P. Colin)