U.S., Turkish forces team up in Anatolian Eagle

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Greg Bluethmann
  • Air Force News, Detachment 4
KONYA AIR BASE, Turkey (AFPN) --  The 22nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed F-16 Fighting Falcons and more than 200 Airmen here for a two-week exercise called Anatolian Eagle.

The exercise provided an opportunity for Turkish and American forces to work side-by-side and learn from each other.

"The Turkish Air Force almost exclusively flies F-16s ... so we get to compare and contrast how they fly their F-16s and how we fly ours," said Lt. Col. Matt Chesnutt, 22nd EFS commander.

The exercise, which ended Nov. 17, takes a lot of coordination and resources. The bulk of the group -- more than 160 -- are maintainers. Other specialities represented are life support, supply and security forces, among others.

A unique part of this exercise is the mobile surface-to-air missile, or SAM, sites. When the 22nd EFS flies in Germany they train against static SAM sites, but during their training in Turkey the mobile SAM sites can pop up anywhere within their training parameters. This ability gives Turkish and American Forces a realistic scenario of what they could face during a wartime environment.

The 22nd EFS is planning to return to Konya in May, according to Colonel Chesnutt.