The 173rd Airborne Brigade, nicknamed “The Herd,” is going through a transitional phase. The unit, which mobilized on 19 August 2024 to Del Din, Italy, in support of the Saber Junction 2024 exercise in Germany, has been facing the same time changes at the top and within the structure of its leadership and training.
Saber Junction 2024 is a biennial exercise that aims at testing the readiness of the brigade and the interoperability between NATO forces. In the exercise, thousands of soldiers from eleven NATO and partner nations are gathered together to conduct large-scale operations similar in form to real-world scenarios. The event allows the 173rd Airborne Brigade to conduct airborne and rapid deployment operations based on outstanding knowledge and skills available at its beck and call. Further, the unit’s fast response against probable adversaries is validated by the event.
However, the brigade’s preparation had been cast into a shadow when its senior enlisted leader was dismissed recently. According to Army spokesman Neil Ruggiero, Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Carlson was relieved on July 16 due to “a loss of trust and confidence in his leadership.” This decision was taken after a thorough investigation into alcohol-related incidents. Carlson, who enlisted in 1999 and has served in numerous global deployments to include Colombia, Latvia, Lithuania, Iraq, and Afghanistan, has been temporarily reassigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa. Sgt. Maj. Frank Batts, command sergeant major of the 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, has assumed duties as the acting brigade command sergeant major.
In other news, the 173rd Fighter Wing, operating out of Kingsley Field, Oregon, wrapped up its contract adversary air program on August 7, 2024. The last F-5 Advanced Tiger made a final mission in support of F-15C student training. According to Col. Micah Lambert, the 173rd Fighter Wing deputy commander, Air Combat Command has prioritized increased adversary air at F-35 training locations; hence, the decision not to renew the contract at Kingsley Field. This comes as the U.S. Air Force plans to divest its F-15C training in the next 14 months, reducing the need for adversary air sorties.
Tactical Air Support has held the adversary air contract since September 2020, providing “red” air acting as adversaries during the training missions. According to Geoff Jensen, Kingsley Field TAC-Air Program Manager, the team was rather proud of what they had managed to do, accumulating over 2,600 sorties for more than 3,200 flight hours. The conclusion of this program is a rather bittersweet moment for the leadership here at Kingsley Field and the TAC-Air team.
Kingsley Field will go back to being a model of self-supporting training, with its F-15s and pilots flying adversary air sorties. If they need more, they will request the sorties from existing adversary air contracts around the country. The F-5s from Kingsley Field are moving to support the missions at Hill Air Force Base in Utah and Eglin AFB in Florida.
Optimistic about the future, Col. Lambert hopes that soon, contract adversary air will once again fly to support missions at Kingsley Field. “Working with TAC-Air, it has been an outstanding and efficient operation in producing the world’s greatest air superiority fighter pilots,” he said.
While the 173rd Airborne Brigade is in Germany, upon deployment, it faces a lot of work to adapt itself to the new leadership and different pieces of training, but the unit is still persistent in maintaining its readiness and operational excellence.