Added mission at Laughlin AFB advances pilot combat skills, Del Rio economy

October 4, 2006
By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

Fresh from a cobalt sky, a pair of T-38C “Talon” trainer jets from Moody Air Force Base rolled gently to a stop on the Laughlin Air Force Base flightline, at 2 p.m., Wednesday (Oct. 4), signaling the first page of an exhilarating chapter in pilot preparedness here.

The “book” is the base’s catch-phrase, Training the Best Pilots in the World, and the new chapter is “Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals.” IFF significantly strengthens the already critical mission of Laughlin Air Force Base. But, at the same time, the city’s economic outlook glows a bit brighter, too.

As Lt. Col. Jimmy Walker, hometown Columbia, S.C., and Capt. Matt Worling, Orlando, Fla., descended small ladders from their cockpits, they were greeted warmly by Col. Mike Minahan, 47th Flying Training Wing Commander at Laughlin. Both men will PCS (permanent change of station) to Laughlin to become part of the military cadre of 102 instructor pilots, commanders and support staff moving from Moody.

Wednesday afternoon, Walker and Worling were simply delivering the first of about 13 T-38s to be ferried to Laughlin. Other pilots will begin deliveries of additional T-6 “Texan II” trainers, and the lot will be joined by 80 vital civilian employees, too.

Final deliberations last year by the once-dreaded 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission turned into a “bonus round” for Laughlin and four other bases, each securing authority to launch the “Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals” curriculum.

Laughlin, Vance Air Force Base, Okla., Sheppard Air Force Base, near Wichita Falls, Texas, Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, and Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. are all on the receiving end of the BRAC realignment, arranged by divestiture of the school from Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, Ga.

IFF is the follow-on to Laughlin’s traditional course of 13 classes annually, each containing 25-30 students. After winning their silver wings that entitle them to be called “pilot,” instead of “student pilot,” those graduates either go on to specialized training in aircraft to which they are assigned, or remain at Laughlin as “first assignment instructor pilots” (FAIPs).

Most commonly, those advancing to aircraft specialization prepare to fly bombers, fighter aircraft, or cargo/troop transport logistical “heavies.” In the fighter category, critical skills in maneuvering the Air Force’s most demanding high-performance jets are required. Though colleagues in other aircraft may scorn, fighter pilots see themselves at the pinnacle of aeronautical achievement.

IFF is the Air Force’s intermediate “graduate school” for students advancing to the sophisticated high-performance fighter jets that give the United States air superiority in most theaters of combat. Graduates of IFF move on to cockpits of the F-15 “Eagle,” weapon of choice of Col. Laro “Hoss” Clark, vice commander of the 47th Flying Training Wing. Others settle into the F-15 “Strike Eagle,” the F-16 “Fighting Falcon,” the F-22A “Raptor,” the F-35 “Lightning II,” and the A-10 “Thunderbolt II.”

“If you look at the typical graduate of UPT [undergraduate pilot training], he’s a competent flyer,” explained Clark, Thursday (Sept. 28). “But he’s had no exposure to air-to-air, air-to-ground, or in-depth low-level flying experience.”

Clark graduated from IFF at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., in 1986, and the course has evolved since then, accommodating Air Force pilot needs, new aircraft and budget considerations. Now, he says, the course is about eight weeks of intensive training. “It’s about 20 rides,” Clark explained, regarding sorties in which to learn, practice, hone and demonstrate new maneuvering skills.

Instructor/student ratios favor both the student and the syllabus, with only six or seven flyers in each class, nearly all of whom will be graduates of Laughlin’s one-year Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training.

The impact on Laughlin’s revered airspace – envied by nearly all training bases in the Air Education Training Command – will not be compromised by the additional aircraft and trainees, according to Clark. Vertical limits of the designated airspace may be increased, he said Thursday, but IFF will only add about 20 sorties a day to the 300, plus, that are flown daily now. Little more than a “blip” on the screen, to hear Clark tell it.

The base’s official three-dimensional Military Operating Areas (MOAs), spreading like pie-shaped segments, from 7,000 - 23,000 feet altitude depth, into ranching country from the base perimeter, will not be re-shaped or significantly re-sized either. Because of the recent conversion of the T-38C cockpit to more high-tech instrumentation and modernized engines, the jet now has more control of precise maneuvers, so the existing MOA configurations can be more efficiently utilized, “into the tight little corners,” Clark said.

But there is at least one new twist to the new IFF training that did not figure into demands of Laughlin’s undergraduate pilot training. The new regimen requires access to a small bombing range.

Though no ordinance will actually be dropped – all skills demonstrations and tests will be accomplished with electronic scoring on ground targets – a piece of land must, nonetheless, be purchased where airspace below the 7,000-foot “bottom” of a MOA is available. “We’re in the early searches for that now,” said Clark, without elaborating.

In addition to IFF, Moody is transferring an estimated 14 T-6 trainers to the Laughlin fleet. That means more students per class will be accommodated, increasing the number of pilots here through the training year.

Clark estimates that Laughlin will add another 10,00 square feet of operations buildings, and additional floorspace will be needed on base to respond to increased maintenance and inspection requirements. (Because the training regimen with the T-38C is necessarily more “aggressive” in use and performance demands, maintenance schedules and repairs are also stepped up.)

A base already smiled on by years of MILCON (Military Construction) federal funding, creating an abundance of first-class new facilities, has just launched an entirely new mission and expanded another, and the local impact is expected to be profoundly beneficial.

Air Force economists estimate that current payroll and direct economic impact of the base in the local economy is about $228 million, or about $627,000 per day. But the incoming personnel, marked by the arrivals of Walker and Worling Wednesday, and the slightly higher ranks of instructors in the squadron-sized unit, will doubtless raise that figure to an unprecedented level.

Moody transfers and IFF staff increases alone – military and civilian – are expected to slam another $11 million per year into the Del Rio and area economy. That’s about $30,000 per day of cash influx, and none of these figures take into account the salaries, expenditures, or purchasing power of the new student pilots attending Laughlin training.

Furthermore, incoming personnel have families, so base leadership anticipates that 400 people will be moving into the Laughlin-Del Rio community over the next several months.

Monique Vernon, City of Del Rio economic development specialist, considered this impact carefully, Wednesday afternoon. “Our department is optimistic about the impact this program will have on our local economy, and the opportunity it provides for our city’s growth,” Vernon remarked, adding that the new figures are surely significant for planners and citizen delegates working on the city’s comprehensive master plan.

Amistad Bank President Tony Hernandez, chair of the Economic Development Committee, Del Rio Chamber of Commerce, reacted to the IFF economic impact news, Wednesday evening. “Wow! What this is going to do is just tremendous for the whole economy,” Hernandez said.

“It’s going to affect Acuña, too, whether they [pilots, families or student pilots] even go there or not. The trickle effect of something like this is very strong, from the housing market, to retail, to restaurants, movie theaters, car dealerships, the mall … everything.

“As a whole, Del Rio is very government-dependent, just when you consider the Border Patrol and the base, along with many other federal agencies here. That’s why we’ve got to make very sure that nothing ever happens to Laughlin Air Force Base!” Hernandez exclaimed.

“And, finally, this is coming from a person who’s not originally from Del Rio, but felt at home right away, we’ve got to make these new Air Force families feel immediately welcome. They need to feel at home and welcomed here with our open arms,” Hernandez said.

Clark said Thursday that the advent of IFF is a great move for both the Air Force and Laughlin. “Bringing Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals here is part of the Air Force’s continuing transformation of how we train our pilots, and how we produce combat-ready pilots,” Clark said.

Clark added that consolidating IFF in the same geographic location as undergraduate pilot training results in better use of ranges, better time-and-resource utilization, is more maintenance-efficient, and is, of course, more broadly economical.

IFF classes will begin in July, 2007, with first graduation exercises in September or early October. Walker and Worling will arrive in April to begin preparations for that first class of eager fighter pilots.