494 Fighter Squadron – Eagle Country

By Tech. Sgt. Dhruv Gopinath and Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell

SOUDA AIR BASE, Greece —
U.S. F-15E Strike Eagles assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, stationed out of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, conducted an Agile Combat Employment movement to Souda AB Greece, within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, July 15, 2022.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Curtis Culver, 494th Fighter Squadron commander, smiles as he watches two F-15E Strike Eagles return after completing an Agile Combat Employment movement between combatant commands, at Souda Air Base, Greece, July 15, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)

“We wanted to operationalize the concept of agile forces conducting operations in multiple combatant commands from a single geographic location,” said Lt. Col. Curtis Culver, 494 FS commander. “We demonstrated that we can rapidly move aircraft between combatant commands, and be ready for contingency operations in either.”

U.S. Air Force Capt. Sean Blye, an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron, from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, conducts pre-flight checks at Souda Air Base, Greece, July 15, 2022. Blye acted as mission flight lead while conducting flight operations from Souda AB to an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, in an effort to exercise cross-combatant command Agile Combat Employment operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)

In order to validate the concept, the 494 FS flew two of its Strike Eagles from Souda Air Base, Greece to the CENTCOM AOR, which landed, refueled and then returned the same day.

“It was a really cool experience overall,” said Capt. Sean Blye, the mission’s flight lead. “It was great to see all the different teams come together to make it seamless and show just how easy it is to send out airpower across multiple combatant commands in a single day.”