US Air Force Personnel Conduct Training Missions at Gloucestershire Airbase

RAF Fairford, an airbase located in Gloucestershire, is currently accommodating over twice its typical number of United States Air Force personnel. More than 200 American aircrew have arrived at RAF Fairford to conduct a bomber task force, collaborating with other NATO countries to practice the coordination of bomb drops. The US Air Force personnel stationed at RAF Fairford in the Cotswolds are ordinarily based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Lt Col Jared Patterson stated that the crew has been “honing our skills so we’re ready for any future fight.” The United States is the sole NATO nation possessing large bombers, with four B-52 bombers currently present at RAF Fairford. Lt Col Patterson indicated that the deployment’s purpose was about “increasing trust-building capacity” with partners and allies, and that training missions had been conducted in Lithuania and Morocco. He further commented, “Throughout this deployment we’ve had out here in England, we’ve worked with a variety of partner nations.” Capt Christina Herman, a radar navigator, is a member of the bomber task force. She remarked, “During training, everything’s simulated and it’s okay if you mess up because nobody’s going to get hurt.” Capt Herman continued, “But in real life, when you feel your bomb leaving your jet, [you think] ‘Oh snap, I just did that’.” She added, “To be able to come out here and do the job, it gives me that satisfaction that the last two to three years of training, it’s not just going away. “I get to put into motion what people before me have taught me.” Lt Col Michael Devita noted that flying and integrating with allies represents “one of the biggest parts of the bomber task force.” He expressed, “We love being out here, we love flying.” He also observed, “It’s definitely a unique experience flying in the UK airspace specifically, but every single one of the allied countries we fly through have different ways they control the airspace, especially for military airplanes.” Last week, a dinner was held at RAF Fairford where US personnel celebrated Thanksgiving.