Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

2 days ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

2 days ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 days ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

2 days ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

3 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

3 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

3 days ago
Look for More Military Jets Overhead in March as Base Welcomes F-16s
Randy-Reed-Image
By Randy Reed, Operations Manager
Published 5 years ago on
February 6, 2020

Share

A squadron of Air Force F-16s will streak across local skies for two weeks in March. It’s part of a unique joint exercise with Fresno’s 144th Fighter Wing.
And officials from the California Air National Guard base are looking for the public’s help to come up with a new name for the multi-unit training event.


Listen to this article:

Pilots from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico will fly alongside local F-15 Eagle pilots, taking off and landing at the Fresno base each day. Aircraft from Naval Air Station Lemoore may also participate in the training, which begins March 17.

More Fighter Jets Flying Over Fresno

“During the exercise, people in the surrounding area of Fresno and Clovis will see a few more jets taking off every day, said Capt. Skylar Bautista, a pilot with the local base’s 194th Fighter Squadron.
“It really shouldn’t be much more than normal, but they will look different and they will be taking off with the F-15s that (local residents) are used to seeing every day. You may see one or two larger aircraft taking off with us as well,” he said.

Capt. Skylar Bautista, 144th Fighter Wing pilot.
The single-engine F-16 Fighting Falcons are somewhat quieter than the twin-engine F-15s flown by Fresno’s Air Guard pilots, Bautista noted. “So, hopefully, not really any kind of impact from a noise standpoint,” he said

Name the Exercise. Win a Commemorative Patch.

In the past, the exercise was called Sentry Griffin. It’s a reference to the mythical beast that serves as the local squadron’s mascot. This year’s version will introduce new training elements that base officials want to emphasize with a more innovative name.
“For instance, in Arizona, there’s an (F-16) Viper squadron. They do ‘Haboob Havoc,'” Bautista said. A “haboob” is a powerful wind storm that kicks up tremendous dust clouds across the desert. “For a short amount of time, they do this exercise that is also really attractive and they offer great training.” 
Bautista said Fresno needs an equally memorable name with a local flavor. Ideas are being taken via the 144th Fighter Wing’s Facebook page through Friday.
The winner will receive a copy of the uniform patch the pilots will wear during the exercise.

Pilots assigned to 144th Fighter Wing walk to their jets.
F-15 Eagle pilots (L to R) Col. Christopher Ridlon, Lt. Col. Kees Allamandola, and Maj. William Sullivan, from the Fresno-based 194th Fighter Squadron, walk to their jets for a training mission following a pre-flight briefing. (GV Wire/Randy Reed)

Two a Day Launches from Air Base

During the two weeks of exercises, the squadrons will take off for their missions and return for landings twice each day, in the mornings and afternoons, Bautista said. The actual combat exercises will happen off the California coast and in the Mojave Desert. Both locations will allow pilots to simulate a more authentic war scenario.
“We are basically (simulating) being the aggressor to a nation that might be on the Pacific Ocean. And we have to fight our way into that country,” Bautista explained.

“The second and probably our larger mission that we more train to every day is our air superiority worldwide mission.”Capt. Skylar Bautista
“If we do well and we establish dominance in that domain, then we’ll push further in. And then in further engagements in the exercise we’ll take off and we’ll actually go over the desert. So Death Valley, Owens Valley, Saline Valley kind of areas. And we will simulate that we’re now pushing further inland to that country.”

Training for Homeland Defense and Combat Deployment

While the Air Guard’s first mission, known as Air Sovereignty Alert, is defensive, Bautista said the fighter squadron’s pilots are required to train for external conflicts as well.

“The second and probably our larger mission that we more train to every day is our air superiority worldwide mission,” said Bautista. “So if you are the president of the United States and you have limited resources, you need to be able to tell the 144th Fighter Wing in Fresno — I need you to go to X country on X day, (and) be there at X time. And I need not a single aircraft threatening any of my troops on the ground or any of my other aircraft or or assets for 30 days, 24 days, whatever it is.”

An Air National Guard F-15 Eagle from the 144th Fighter Wing takes off from Fresno for a training mission. In March, the local Guard base will host a joint exercise in Fresno with pilots and aircraft from New Mexico, including Air Force F-16s. (GV Wire/Randy Reed)

Training with and against other squadrons allows the Fresno-based fighter pilots — and their New Mexico counterparts — to enhance their combat skills for whichever mission they’re called to perform.

“What that gives us is practice looking at a different aircraft, maneuvering against the different aircraft. And then, no kidding, the sensors and the data that we’re seeing on our displays look different,” said Bautista. “And it’s better training than when we see the same thing every day and try to pretend that it’s something else.”

Squadrons Will Compete in ‘Real World’ Scenario

The Fresno exercise will also introduce an element of competition this year.
“What we’re going to do is, the good guys, so to speak, have a certain amount of pilots, aircraft, missiles, bullets, and you can’t use more than that for the whole exercise. The bad guys, so to speak, which will have someone in charge of simulating an enemy force and a commander — has all the same limitations,” Bautista said.
As forces and resources are depleted, they will not be replaced.
“So, if we’re down to four jets left and I am defeated, we only have three jets to take off with and fly with the next day. So it is real world.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

DON'T MISS

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

DON'T MISS

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

DON'T MISS

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

DON'T MISS

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

DON'T MISS

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

DON'T MISS

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

DON'T MISS

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

UP NEXT

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

UP NEXT

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

UP NEXT

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

UP NEXT

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

UP NEXT

Gaza Running out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Children

UP NEXT

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

UP NEXT

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

UP NEXT

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

UP NEXT

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

UP NEXT

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

20 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

20 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

20 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

20 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

20 hours ago

Lemoore Farmers Fed Up With Lack of Representation on Groundwater Agency

21 hours ago

‘Jenny from the Block’ Rescued After Camping Out by Calwa ATM

21 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

2 days ago

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

2 days ago

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

2 days ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The entire board of directors overseeing Highlands Community Charter and Technical Schools in Sacramento has either resigned or been removed...

17 hours ago

The entire board of Highlands Community Charter in Sacramento stepped down after a state audit found the school improperly received over $180 million and engaged in questionable spending. (Shutter
17 hours ago

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

The NASA logo is seen at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., April 16, 2021. (Reuters File)
20 hours ago

NASA Says 20% of Workforce to Depart Space Agency

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a ward for Palestinian patients at El Arish Hospital, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, in Arish, Egypt April 8, 2025. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS
20 hours ago

Frustration, Gaza Alarm Drove Macron to Go It Alone on Palestine Recognition

U.S. President Donald Trump golfs at Trump Turnberry resort in Turnberry, Scotland, Britain, July 26, 2025. (Reuters/Phil Noble)
20 hours ago

Trump Golfs in Scotland as Epstein Questions Persist

Noah Robinson, 38, was arrested after allegedly robbing a Visalia Long John Silver’s at knifepoint and attempting to flee through nearby backyards with $110 in stolen cash on Friday, July 25, 2025. (Visalia PD)
20 hours ago

Visalia Police Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect at Long John Silver’s

20 hours ago

Grand Rising Brings Sober Day Party Vibes to Fresno

Craft Brewer Jack McAuliffe With Jim Koch of Samuel Adams
20 hours ago

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

fresno
20 hours ago

Fresno Crash Leaves One Dead After Car Submerges in Canal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend