Staff Sgt. Justin White signals to Maj. Sam Joplin to begin taxiing a 65th Aggressor Squadron F-15 Eagle to the runway Sept. 18, 2014, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Thomas Spangler)
One of the two aggressor squadrons at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, has deactivated.
The 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis, which flew F-15s, was deactivated Sept. 26, according to the Air Force. This means that Nellis will only have one squadron, the 64th Aggressor Squadron, to serve as adversaries during the large-scale Red Flag exercises at the base, along with Weapons School training. The squadron helped train pilots in F-22s, F-35s, F-15s, F-16s and F/A-18s.
“It’s been a great asset for the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center to be able to have the F-15 Eagles here as an aggressor squadron for almost a decade now,” said Lt. Col. Gregory Wintill, commander of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, in a news release.
The squadron’s F-15s will be assigned to other squadrons throughout the Air Force. Pilots in the 65th will continue their work in F-15s until March 2015, but could be reassigned.
The remaining 64th Aggressor Squadron primarily flies F-16s.
“Fiscal times are tough for the country as a whole, and when you find yourself in that situation you have to make sacrifices and you have to look closely at priorities and make tough decisions,” said Capt. Jeremy Allen, the chief of safety of the 65th AGRS.
