For the 148th Fighter Squadron, an F-16 Fighting Falcon Air National Guard unit, based out of Duluth, Minnesota, Tarang Shakti-24 provided invaluable training through obstacles from Aug 29 to Sept. 14, 2024 at Jodhpur Air Force Station in Rajasthan, India.
As a deployed unit, they are known as the 179th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and they deployed alongside the 25th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, an active duty A-10 Thunderbolt II unit, providing the exercise capabilities and experience from varied platforms and experiences.
From those experiences, the 179th are no strangers to international travel to support large force concepts as they are also on an expeditionary deployment to Kadena Air Base, Japan, as part of a rotational asset force structure to enhance deterrence and sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific. Forward deploying to TS24 is a reflection of that rotational concept, and for the Duluth team, it provided them an opportunity to prevail through unforeseen events.
“Moving parts and people is complex, and those complications enhance when unforeseen circumstances like weather come up,” said Master Sgt. Kelly Jones, EFS first sergeant. “Fortunately, our people make the mission happen despite limiting factors like parts not arriving in time due to weather or other uncontrollable issues. This exercise may not have happened exactly as we planned or envisioned, but we got our aircraft in the air to share invaluable training with multinational partners.”
Kelly explained that some parts could not make their way to Jodhpur Air Force Station; however, an important asset did: people.
“Our people make the mission happen; they’ve been generating airpower at Kadena, and they did that here in India amongst ten other participating nations,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Blazevic, 179th Expeditionary Squadron Aircraft Maintenance Unit commander. “We missed out on some training and cultural opportunities due to missing parts and memorabilia cargo shipments, but our Airmen made use of their time here learning from 28 different Air Forces and readying available jets for missions.”
While the team looked to participate in both day and night missions planned throughout the exercise, vital equipment to support some operations did not make it to theater; however this gave them time to focus on daytime tactics, techniques and procedures. It also gave them more time to discuss operations with multinational partners.
“We did miss out on some of what was planned, but that’s life–you have to expect the unexpected and work through what comes up,” said Kelly. “It was really amazing to not only see our Airmen be flexible in this contingency, but to also take advantage of what some might see as a disadvantage.”
For 179th EFS pilots like Maj. Christopher Zeigler, the training, partnership, cultural events and problem solving provided by Tarang Shakti-24, enhanced operations for multinational partners supporting a common resolve to sustain and a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“We worked with a lot of different nations here,” said Zeigler. “The exercise was a great opportunity for us to run large force exercise events with the Indian Air Force. We enjoyed working with everyone and building relationships. We don’t get to do this very often with other countries, so I think it was a really beneficial experience for our unit. Building these partnerships and flying with different airframes like this, it puts us in a better position to support shared missions throughout the Indo-Pacific.”
