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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/96 LUFTWAFFE STRENGTHENS "TEAM HOLLOMAN" by Patrick Hoeveler Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, is one of the busiest air bases of the US Air Force. Since April of this year, twelve German Panavia Tornados have been based in New Mexico's hot desert along with the USAF aircraft. The primary tasks of the German detachment in the current phase "Holloman I" are the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (FWIC) and the tactical training for Tornado pilots and weapon system officers (WSO). The high-value flight training, as it is done at Holloman, is not possible in Germany. The crews can practice low-level flying down to 100 ft and also employ live weapons. Such a training course lasts two and a half weeks and includes nine to ten flying days with the intensity and difficulty increasing from mission to mission. The pilots and WSOs who are designated for the crisis reaction forces have priority in this high-value training; later the program will include all Tornado crews. With approximately 2000 flying hours, the main part of the Tornado hours at Holloman are flown in the tactical training courses. The remaining 500 hours are flown during the Fighter Weapons Instructor Course. Still, the latter has the priority at Holloman. A FWIC participation is valued as the highest level of training within the flying personnel, and the Luftwaffe still does not have enough weapons instructors. 50 percent of all flight instructors are supposed to have participated in this course. However, currently it is only one third of the crews. McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms, Northrop T-38 Talons from Holloman, and Lockheed Martin F-16s from the Albuquerque Air National Guard are regularly participating in the 42 missions of the course. Approximately one third of the missions are air combat missions, which is not normally a domain of the Tornado fighter-bomber. This includes shooting at towed targets with the internal 27 mm Mauser guns. Some missions at Nellis, in a scenario similar to Red Flag, are completing the 62 flight hours and 220 academic hours course. German Defence Minister Rühe inaugurated the Tactical Training Command in Holloman on May 1, 1996. The weapons instructor training started shortly afterward in July, with the tactical training courses beginning in October of this year. The Training Command, which is placed under the command of the German Air Force Command USA, at Fort Bliss, in the current phase (Holloman I) is made up of a staff of 300 soldiers and twelve Tornado aircraft. The fighters came from different German air bases and were picked because of their low number of flight hours. The scheduled maintenance at Holloman is accomplished by a maintenance crew of 60 experts who work in two 30-man shifts. DM 62 million was invested into a new infrastructure, including a noise hall as a participation to environmental protection, as well as, a ramp to load the aircraft with live weapons, and a staff building which is equally used by the Tornado and the Phantom detachment. New shelters, similar to the ones used for the Lockheed F-117A stealth fighters, were built as a protection for the aircraft against heat, thunderstorms and sand storms. Unlike normal German wing structures, Holloman I is not divided into a flying, a technical, and a support group, in order to keep the detachment as small as possible. The Luftwaffe is responsible for its flying operation from Holloman, but adheres to the regulations of the USAF host, the Wing Commander of the 49th Fighter Wing. In a few years, the Training Command will enter the next phase (Holloman II). At that point the entire German Tornado training will be concentrated in New Mexico. This was initiated by the US offer to use the free capacities and the end of the former training concept in Germany: The Alpha Jet operation in Fürstenfeldbruck will cease in 1997, TTTE training in Cottesmore, UK, will run out in 1999. Also, the Phantom training was already moved in 1992 from George AFB, Calif., to Holloman. The Tornado weapon system training, right now in Cottesmore, and the instructor training, right now in Jever, Germany, will also move to the Luftwaffe's newest base in the US. Another 600 soldiers and 30 more aircraft will go to Holloman in 1999 to facilitate a smooth transition, making the Training Command at Holloman the largest permanent Luftwaffe command outside of Germany. The advantage of this concentration of training is a shortening and standardization of the courses. However, the plans are not entirely secure yet. Only if the new Pinon shooting range is opened with the help of German and US funds, will the additional personnel and aircraft be transferred. This, in return, depends on a study made by the American environmental administration which is to find out if such an expansion of operations at Holloman are consistent with the aspects of environmental protection. The expected high number of aircraft movements might also develop into a capacity problem. The airspace around the air base with its three F-117 squadrons, one T-38 training squadron, one F-4 squadron, and the twelve German Tornados is already congested. The US Air Force is trying to cope with this pile up through a stricter system than the Luftwaffe would like: Only after determining the take-off times are the range times being reserved. In Germany, this is worked the other way around. Another problem is that not all of the ranges fulfill the needs of the German Air Force: The "Beach" range is located at an elevation of 4000 m. The altitude and the high temperatures degrade the performance of the Tornado's Turbounion RB.199 engines. The "Pecos" range is hosted by Cannon AFB and the Luftwaffe does not have priority. The famous White Sands missile range belongs to the US Army and the so called "Talon" range does not have a scoring system. However, the Luftwaffe personnel at Holloman are bothered by other problems right now. The equipment has been gathered from all over the Luftwaffe and sometimes does not meet the needs. There is a lack of ground test equipment and reserves. This is due to the fact that a new Tornado base was set-up without closing one in Germany. Besides the above mentioned flight planning problems the cooperation with the US Air Force is very good. Everywhere you look is a friendly work atmosphere between Germans and Americans, says Lieutenant Colonel Schwarz, Deputy Commander of the German Command in Holloman. All Germans, except for the draftees, live off-base in the town of Alamogordo which facilitates the integration in the daily life. The air base has always been the region's most important economical factor and the Luftwaffe's engagement at Holloman generated a considerable upwind. That's why the paroles against the "German invaders", which have been brought up by American right extremists from out-of-town, are meaningless from the local point of view. Not to mention the big sign at the town access that says: "Alamogordo welcomes the German soldiers and their families. Welcome!" From page 32 of FLUG REVUE 12/96 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 12/96 Copyright 1996 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated November 19, 1996