F-22s & A-10s Conduct Live Fire Together in “Decentralized” Wargames

By Olawale Abaire, Warrior Editorial Fellow

The Sentry Aloha exercise, held at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is a critical training event for the Hawaii Air National Guard’s 154th Wing. It ended on June 12, 2024 featuring over 1,000 participants from nine states and four service branches. The exercise included a variety of fighter and attack aircraft, such as A-10 Warthogs, F-16 Fighting Falcons, and F-35A Lightning IIs, alongside the locally based F-22 Raptors of the 154th Wing.

The primary focus of Sentry Aloha 24-2 was on decentralized operations and autonomy in combat scenarios. Major Michael ‘Deuce’ Oliver, the exercise director, highlighted the strategic shift towards decentralized and flexible combat practices: “This strategic shift challenged us to employ decentralized and flexible practices in dynamic combat environments while facing the threat of advanced enemy aircraft,” Oliver stated.

Sentry Aloha 24-2 emphasized interoperability among different branches and units. The integration of various air and ground assets, including a U.S. Marine Corps MQ-9A from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3, provided real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) information. This capability was pivotal in both air-to-ground and maritime strike missions.

According to Tech. Sgt. Kukila Carreira-Manin, weapons director of the 169th Air Defense Squadron, “these exercises are critical for us to scale our operations and function cohesively as a joint force.” He further stated that “This training also provided an excellent opportunity to integrate with more expeditionary Air National Guard units from across the continental United States, including the 128th, 116th, and 109th Air Control Squadrons, alongside the 3rd LAAB Marines stationed at Kaneohe Bay and MACS-4 from Okinawa, Japan.”

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Daily sorties were centered on air-to-air combat, featuring large-scale simulations against adversarial red air forces and integration with friendly blue air forces. One of the key training aspects was protecting A-10 aircraft during air-to-ground strikes, coordinated from the Pohakuloa Training Area on Hawaii Island. These operations were supported by ground-based Airmen from the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron, ensuring close air support strikes were executed with precision.