WEBVTT

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The path to becoming a successful F-16

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fighter pilot is a long and challenging

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process . Student pits can experience

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training events that simulate real

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world missions such as operation cornet .

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Cactus . Coronet Cactus is an annual

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training event that deploys members of

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the 1 49 fighter wing to another

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environment in order to familiarize

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them with accomplishing mission

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objectives in a foreign location . The

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coordinate Cactus is a unique temporary

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duty assignment that we get to fly out

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here in Southern Arizona to utilize

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some airspace and some range

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regulations that we do not have the

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ability to in central Texas and allow

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us to really maximize on some fantastic

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weather and some fantastic flying

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ability . The difficulty of dropping

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live bombs and ammunition makes it

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essential that the whole 149 fighter

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wing works together to achieve mission

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success . So what makes a successful

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Cactus is the force integration of all

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the different air Force specialties ?

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So we have about 250 people here at

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Cactus and so everyone from AMMO to

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maintenance all the way up to medical

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and then you have the actual pilots who

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are conducting the mission themselves .

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We also have a few finance people here .

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And so it takes the whole wing and a

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lot of work and a lot of hours to

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create this scenario for those brand

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new F-16 pilots in their Capstone event .

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But a lot of our other job specialties

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get to practice skills that they don't

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traditionally use back in San Antonio .

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So one of those being our AMMO guys ,

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they can build live bombs . That's one

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of the big ones . But also here for

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specifically Intel , we do a lot of

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missions briefings and scenarios . So

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we get to bring in a lot of the new

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data that's been given to us and we get

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to give it to those pilots and they get

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to utilize that in the correct ways .

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Reporting for the 149 Fighter Wing .

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I'm airman first class Derek Gutierrez .