Turkey shoot competition wraps up with awards presentation Published Aug. 25, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Redente 36th Wing Public Affairs ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam -- Airmen from the 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and 525th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron gathered here Aug. 14 for the results of the 2009 Inaugural Turkey Shoot. Leadership including Col. Douglas Cox, 36th Wing vice commander, Col. Tod Fingal, 36th Operations Group commander and participating flying squadron commanders were present to hand out certificates and trophies to various award winners in the competition that allowed the air expeditionary units to plan and execute tactical missions with airframes that don't regularly training together. "This Turkey Shoot went exactly as I envisioned and probably exactly as the squadron commanders envisioned," Colonel Fingal said at the beginning of the awards presentation. "It was well executed from the leadership, and more importantly, well executed from each individual wingman. Everyone went out there with their game face on. Hats off to all of you for putting together a well executed turkey shoot." The group commander who oversees the flying operations, which support Pacific Command's Theater Security Package and Continuous Bomber Presence in the Asia-Pacific region, said those who participated in the turkey shoot all learned something different about the aircraft flown in the competition. "It's important to continue to train like this as we continue to do operations not only here at Andersen, but more importantly throughout the Air Force," he said. "Capabilities about the KC-135, the B-52 and the F-22 were all shared, and I guarantee you we're going to be a stronger force because of that, so keep that camaraderie rolling." Colonel Cox also spoke a few words at the awards presentation. "I can't tell you how impressed I am by the way that you have all come together as a team," Colonel Cox said. "Even though you are from different units who don't normally work together, here you are putting on an outstanding competition, and showing [Pacific Air Forces], PACOM and the entire [area of responsibility] that we're ready to fight right here when needed. It was a very impressive show." Three teams each composed of four 525th EFS F-22 Raptors deployed from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, four B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale AFB, La., and one KC-135 Stratotanker participated in the competition of planning and executing a mission. Capt. David Wright, a F-22 Raptor pilot assigned to the 525th EFS, who was one of the 2009 Inaugural Turkey Shoot competition planners, said they presented more difficult problems to the aircrews to challenge them to figure out a resolution as a team and to drive more lessons learned from the exercise. "By making it more difficult, it is going to lead to some creative solutions and to some mistakes, which is what we use to get better," Captain Wright said. "At the end of it, you break down some of the barriers between the different weapons systems." The captain said the turkey shoot exercises are a way to be aware of how each air frame operates, as well as recognize the aircrews' wants and needs. "It's a way to better understand their capabilities and limitations, and how we can better operate together, so next time we can operate better together," he said. At the opening of the awards presentation a short video clip on the WWII Turkey Shoot between Japanese and U.S. Naval aircraft was played to display the importance of what the aircrew members had participated in during the three-day competition. "It was coincidental that the WWII Turkey Shoot only happened a hundred miles from here, and it was pretty cool that it happened that way," Captain Wright said. "Ever since I've been flying fighters, we've had a least two or three turkey shoots a year. I've always known the significance of it. It brings perspective to what we're doing." According to Captain Wright, the lessons learned from this exercise included fighter pilots gaining a better understanding of the bomber's capability and understanding that communication over radios gives the bomber aircrew a better understanding of what occurs. "We didn't realize that [the bombers] could be so flexible not only how they can employ, but the stuff they are doing along the strike route to keep themselves alive, so it's a lot different than our initial expectations, so that was definitely a lessons learned for us," Captain Wright said. "The other lesson learned...once we get out in the airspace, we tend to be quiet on the radio and the [bombers] actually appreciated it when we were more vocal on the radio talking more about our targeting. It helped them develop more of a mental picture of the fight." The units will redeploy to their home stations in September and October.