Public Affairs, Volume 63, Number 47
Serving the community of Edwards Air Force Base California www.edwards.af.mil - www.facebook.com/EdwardsAirForceBase
June 10, 2016
BAF hosts first Royal Canadian Air Force plane by Kenji Thuloweit 412th Test Wing Public Affairs
A Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130J transport plane sits in the Benefield Anechoic Facility May 24 undergoing electronic warfare testing. The CC-130J is from 8 Wing located at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario. The J model has six propellers and can fly faster, higher and farther than legacy versions, while carrying heavier loads with better fuel economy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kenji Thuloweit)
For the first time ever, a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility. A team of engineers, operators and defense scientists from Canada, are wrapping up electronic warfare testing of an RCAF CC-130J Hercules transport plane. Canada is updating its fleet of legacy CC-130H aircraft with the J model, which are the same as the U.S. Air Force C-130Js and used for tactical airlift of troops and supplies. The team has conducted multiple tests in the past couple of weeks focusing on the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and its integration with the rest of the Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite and aircraft mission computer. "The BAF is the closest thing to actually flying the aircraft in an RF threat environment. The chamber allows us to execute multiple test objectives in a controlled-repeatable manner and collect data to evaluate the radar warning receiver’s technical performance and effectiveness." said Emil Poliakov, Canada Department of National Defense, radar warfare engineer. The BAF, operated by the 772nd Test Squadron, is the largest anechoic chamber in the world and can fit pretty much any airplane inside. It
See C-130J, Page 3
Test Wing command chief retires at 29 years By Christopher Ball 412th Test Wing Public Affairs The 412th Test Wing’s command chief master sergeant retired after more than 29 years of service with a ceremony in Hangar 1600 here Friday. Attended by base leaders, friends and family of Chief Smith, the ceremony was a celebration of the senior noncommissioned officer’s career and accomplishments. Brig. Gen. Carl Shaefer, 412th Test Wing commander, presided over the ceremony. “This is a big deal. We’re retiring a chief master sergeant, which is the top one percent of our enlisted corps,” he said. “In addition to that, we’re retiring someone who is a graduated command chief. That is top point-one percent in our enlisted force.” The general introduced and talked about Smith’s family – his parents, in-laws, children and wife – and complimented them all for the support they gave to the chief over the years of his career. He also commented on the chief’s dedication. “Attitude, loyalty and love – his all,” the
commander said. “Chief has given his all to the Air Force. When I turned to the chief with an issue, Chief would say ‘I got this’ and he really did. When he said ‘I got this’ it meant he was going to fix it.” As command chief master sergeant for the 412th TW, Smith has served as the principle advisor to the commander on matters concerning morale, welfare, discipline, training, fitness and effective utilization of the wing's 14,000 military, civilian, contractor personnel and their families. He also represented the enlisted force at a multitude of meetings, committees, boards and steering councils supporting the wing's personnel across 57 organizations. During the ceremony, the command chief talked about his Air Force Career over the years. Smith described why he originally joined the Air Force. He said that although he did love his country, it was not the primary motivating factor for joining. “At the end of the day, for a young 20-year-old, I just had a powerful need to eat,” he said. “I will tell you,” he continued, “we have core values, we talk about service. Maybe that wasn’t deep inside me just yet, but over time it grows. It doesn’t
grow though, without a lot of help, a lot of mentorship and a lot of leadership, supervision and guidance. Over time, my love for the Air Force, my love for the service, my love for being
Leslie Smith, wife of Chief Master Sgt. David Smith, 412th Test Wing command chief master sergeant, pins his retirement pin on his lapel during Smith’s retirement ceremony June 3. (U.S. Air Force photo by Joseph Pol Gocong.)
See Chief, Page 3 http://issuu.com/desertwings/docs/current