gles and 227 airmen from the 4th Fighter Wing/333rd Fighter Squadron have deployed to the Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Savannah and will begin executing flight training missions immediately. These airmen and their aircraft are typically based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

The 333rd Fighter Squadron Lancers F-15E Formal Training Unit deployment is a joint, total force integration training for student pilots and weapons system officers. They will conduct combat tactics training over the ocean and at the CRTC’s Townsend Bombing Range in McIntosh County. The training team will include instructors and maintenance personnel from the 414th Fighter Group Air Force Reserve.

Prior to training in Savannah, students flew F-15Es in airspace and ranges within 300 miles of Seymour Johnson. They also received 200 hours of academics in the F-15E Basic Course, more than 40 high-fidelity simulator missions and flew more than 40 training sorties in the F-15E.

Upon graduation, they are assigned to one of six operational F-15E squadrons located at Seymour Johnson, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, or with the Royal Air Force in England. Some graduates are set to deploy for global combat operations within six months of completing the training program at Seymour Johnson.

Savannah area residents may notice higher than normal air traffic for the next two weeks as the F-15s take-off and depart from the Combat Readiness Training Center, located across the airfield from the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport.