(and one green flag)
Texas Lake is slang for Delamar Dry Lake. It is a refueling and staging area for the Blue forces.
The color photograph is from an USAF news release on controllers at Nellis AFB. The black and white image is a perspective corrected image of what is on the screen in the USAF photograph.
Red Flag by Walter J. Boyne
An article from Air Force Magazine about the history of Red Flag, with photos of the MI-24 Hind helicopter and the TV Ordnance Scoring System (TOSS)
Sierra Hotel by C. R. Anderegg
"Sierra Hotel" is about fighter planes, pilots and techniques in the decade after Vietnam, but there is quite a bit of information (about 20% of the book) regarding the creation of Red Flag, the initial aggressor squadron, the ACMI and TOSS scoring system, and some information on the use of SAM sites and smokey-SAMs. The book has its share of "good stories", including the legend of Jeremiah Weed.
This book is available on-line in pdf format, but buying a copy and reading it a chapter or two a day at Peet's would be far more enjoyable than printing out 228 pages. However, for those who just want to read the Red Flag portions of the book, download a copy here. It's a 4 Mbyte download on a server doing about 17kB/s, so even on DSL, give it some time.
Book pages PDF pages Contents 72-79 90-97 Creation of the Aggressor Squadron 89-101 107-119 Red Flag 108-110 126-128 Introduction of the ACMI range at Nellis (electronic scoring) 113-116 131-134 Alterations of the Nellis ranges to suit Red Flag, i.e. targets, SAM sites, etc. Introduction of video cameras on the planes and Smokey Sam 187-189 205-207 "The True Story of Jerimiah Weed". A story about a plane crash near Alamo, a bar, and cheap bourbon.
Nellis AFB put out a request to outsource the management of
Red Flag and other exercises. While many have written about Red Flag,
there is no better source than those that run the show.
THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY. IT IS A MARKET SURVEY FOR
INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. PLEASE DO NOT
REQUEST A COPY OF A SOLICITATION ? ONE DOES NOT CURRENTLY EXIST. THE
GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY FOR ANY INFORMATION THAT IS SUBMITTED IN
RESPONSE TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT REQUEST.
The 99th Contracting Squadron/LGCB is conducting market research to
seek qualified sources capable of performing tasks in support of the
414th Combat Training Squadron. This support shall cover all training
and testing operations which utilize the Nellis Air Combat Training
System (NACTS)/Individual Combat Aircrew Display System (ICADS) and
operations with the Combined Air Operations Center Nellis
(CAOC-N). These operations include but are not limited to RED FLAG (RF)
and MAPLE FLAG (MF) exercises, USAF Weapons School Mission Employment
(ME) phase, Joint Expeditionary Forces Experiment (JEFX), ANGEL THUNDER
and other special training/testing missions.
RF exercises, conducted at Nellis AFB, NV, provide Large Force Exercise (LFE) advanced tactical training for multinational forces. RF exercises are typically conducted five times per year, are two weeks long, contain two missions per day (normally one day and one night) and comprise 500 to 1500 sorties.
MF exercises are similar to RF exercises but conducted at Canadian Forces Base, Cold Lake Alberta, Canada. They are typically conducted three times per year, are four to six weeks long, contain two missions per day and comprise 500-1000 sorties.
For both exercises, separate morning, afternoon and nighttime operations may be conducted during any particular period. An Air Tasking Order (ATO) is published for each exercise day that directs the missions, objectives and targets for each unit as part of the integrated force. During execution, mission data is transmitted live and recorded from exercise aircraft/equipment, and received/processed by 98th Range Wing (98 RANW) computer systems for real-time mission control and use in mission debriefings. Recorded data will require post-mission merging. Post-mission, the ATO results in the generation of several aircrew debriefing products to include: graphic flight path tracks for each aircraft; weapons employment "shot" evaluations (air-to-air, air-to-ground, ground-to-air shot and Electronic Warfare (EW)); survivability analysis; aggressor tactics and other related data.
In support of these exercises, the 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron (68 EWS) at Eglin AFB, FL is tasked by Air Combat Command (ACC) through the USAF Warfare Center (USAFWC) to be the focal point to manage EW training, testing, tactics development and engineering. The 68 EWS provides specialized expertise and assistance in conducting EW/Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence (C3I) operations during composite force training exercises at Nellis AFB, NV.
During each exercise the contractor shall support aircrew package debriefs (normally two to three) and a mass aircrew debrief for every mission. Debrief data for both RF and MF will be inputted into and maintained in a database to allow analysis of aggregate historical data concerning the capabilities and strategies utilized in tactical air operations. The contractor shall provide data retrievals as requested by the 414 CTS staff to support any requests within the scope of the contract. Normal duty hours are 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, but staggered, flex-time and delayed shifts as well as some weekend support may be required to support nighttime missions, support unique mission requirements and to provide timely documentation. The contractor shall use such scheduling techniques to avoid using overtime to the maximum extent possible. During exercise execution, the contractor shall provide up to 16 hours of continuous mission support in accordance with daily flying and briefing/debriefing schedules as published by the Government. When required to meet increased mission requirements, the Government reserves the right to augment contractor key entry technicians with military and/or civilian personnel.
The contract support responsibilities will be generally divided into two categories: basic data processing/analysis and surge (as required for mission accomplishment) requirements. The contractor shall: review and update exercise plans/visual aids; support professional quality product preparation; ensure exercise data is transmitted, stored and available for the creation of aircrew debriefing and historical archival products; conduct, document and publish exercise participant satisfaction interviews; accomplish daily system file backups; provide an automated means to collect security data; and maintain and provide reference services for the RF Technical Library.
Most personnel categories require a bachelor degree and/or experience in specific disciplines (i.e. Contract Manager/Senior Analyst, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Technical Senior Analyst (TSA), etc). The contractor is required to have a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance and must have or be eligible to receive Special Access Program (SAP) status at the performance start date (tentatively set for 1 Oct 2008). Interested small businesses that are certified and qualified (in accordance with 13 CFR parts 125.8 through 125.12, and FAR Part 19.307) as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) concern in NAICS code 541513 with a size standard of $23 million are encouraged to submit their capability packages outlining their experience in the aforementioned key areas and tasks. A firm will be considered small if their average annual receipts for the preceding three fiscal years were less than or equal to $23 million. Any submitted information is voluntary. Request interested firms submit a Statement of Capabilities (SOC) to this office to include, but is not limited to: (1) a summary of similar, recent (within the last three fiscal years) performance history (including points of contact with applicable telephone and fax numbers, addresses and e-mail addresses, as available) as well as identifying in what capacity the work was performed (e.g. prime contractor, consultant, subcontractor, etc.); (2) the firm's capability of obtaining the required security clearance; (3) the firm?s business size status. Responses must be received no later than 4:30 PM Pacific Standard Time on 10 March 2008. Responses to this notice will assist the Government in determining potential sources and is not a request to be considered for a contract award. If a solicitation is issued, it will be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities web-site, http://www.eps.gov. All interested parties must respond to that solicitation announcement separately from responses to this SOURCES SOUGHT notice.