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April 2011 - 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard

April 2011 - 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard

April 2011 - 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National Guard

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APRIL <strong>2011</strong>AIRSCOOPPAGE 8WSEP exercise <strong>2011</strong>By Staff Sgt. Matthew Benedetti, Public Affairs JournalistMembers of the 104 th <strong>Fighter</strong><strong>Wing</strong> are deploying to Tyndall AFBin Florida for two weeks in <strong>April</strong> forthe Weapons System EvaluationProgram (WSEP). This will be thefirst opportunity for the 104 thmembers to test the Operations andMaintenance system while deployingF-15s with people and cargo whileloading live munitions with the F-15s.<strong>Air</strong> Force Target Drone (File photo)During the upcoming deployment,F-15s will employ air-to-air missilesagainst real world targets.With many pilots still intransition from the previous A-10 air to ground mission, onlyabout half of all 104 th F-15pilots have ever employed anair-to-air missile. “This is acritical combat skill for all F-15pilots to be able to maneuvertheir aircraft to an acceptableWeapons Engagement Zoneand employ missiles,” saidMajor Shane Nagatani, OIC ofthe mission.The capacity at Barnes is limitedand this training environment inFlorida allows 104 th pilots to includeLarge Force Exercises. “I havecoordinated Large Force Exerciseswhile we are deployed to TyndallAFB, which will include both fourthgeneration F-15s/F-16s and fifthgeneration F-22s,” said Maj,Nagatani.“These training opportunities arerarely seen for the 104 th , unless weare deployed,” added Maj, Nagatani.OPSEC and unclassified informationBy Staff Sgt. Matthew Benedetti, Public Affairs JournalistAs the <strong>Wing</strong> Operations Security(OPSEC) Program Manager for the104 th , Capt. Glenn Milliken’s chiefconcern is monitoring unclassifiedinformation originating from thebase. Although by itself a piece ofunclassified information may be innocuous,combined with anothersource, a potential threat mayemerge. Whether it is a flight roster,maintenance related data or a Facebookposting, Milliken’s focus is ensuringthat unclassified informationis handled in a prudent manner.“I worry about an adversary puttingthe pieces of the puzzle together,”he said. “If information isused collectively, it can paint a goodpicture of what we do.”As the chair of the OPSEC workinggroup, he takes an adversarialperspective in order to detect vulnerabilities.A potential enemy will tryto determine -Who we are, What wedo, and What limitations exist.He urges members to understandthe technical limitations pertainingto social media. Facebook for example,has a feature that allows an interestedparty to locate the geographicarea where a user is loggedin. For a deployed military member,this information could have direramifications and could possibly compromisethe mission of their unit.Milliken’s advice to unit membersrelative to OPSEC is to always becognizant of what you are communicating.He advises, “Ask yourselfwhether you would hand the informationto the enemy.”Master Sgt. Yasser Menwer, thesecurity manager here at Barnes,cautions members on their collectivesecurity responsibility. “What makesus targets is the fact that sometimeswe do not realize that saying just alittle bit, can many times be toomuch,” he said.“We also tend to let our guarddown because we are not in the desert.We may become very complacentbecause we are “just” a <strong>Guard</strong>base. The fact of the matter is thatwith our <strong>Air</strong> Sovereignty Alert mission,we become bigger targets insteadof less,” said Menwer.

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