Andersen hosts SFARP

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Veronica McMahon
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Four squadrons of F-18s from the Naval Air Facility at Atsugi Japan, along with approximately 550 military aircrew personnel, are at Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) until April 10 for the Strike Fighter Advanced Readiness Program (SFARP).

The fighter squadrons deploy to the island biannually for air-to-air and air-to-ground training to maintain the proficiency and readiness of the air wing.

"The SFARP is a focused, unit-level training exercise conducted under the auspices of the Air Combat Training Continuum," said U.S. Navy Capt. Daniel Cave, Carrier Air Wing 5 commander. "The SFARP is directed by Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center and is implemented by the Strike Fighter Weapons Schools."

According to Captain Cave, SFARP consists of a comprehensive academic syllabus and a 15 sortie flight syllabus. The carrier air wing executes its SFARP syllabus every two years to ensure they are executing the latest tactics, while increasing overall squadron readiness in preparation for deployment on the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73).

Andersen AFB provides a unique training environment, which enables the wing to complete all SFARP flights from one location. The weather and available ranges also support many flights operating at the same time.

Wing leadership is proud to offer a good environment for aircraft training and the various exercises that are conducted here.

"The 36th Wing is honored to host CVW-5 during their biannual SFARP training," said Col. Randy Kaufman, 36th Operations Group commander. "The unique combination of sovereign United States territory, weather, airspace with both live and inert weapons ranges, two active runways and lots of parking space for multiple aircraft as well as dedicated Airmen make Andersen AFB a premier location to support advanced aircraft training. This preference for operating out of Andersen AFB is evidenced by the numerous Aviation Training Relocation exercises as well as Exercise Cope North and Exercise Valiant Shield that Andersen AFB is asked to host."

Aside from training, such exercises also have a positive impact on the island.

"With 46 aircraft and over 800 visiting personnel, this SFARP training has had an overall positive effect on our ability to provide support to U.S. Navy aircraft," said Lt. Col. Heber Toro, 36th Wing Readiness chief. "Andersen AFB and the stellar Airmen of the 36th Wing have repeatedly proven themselves ready to handle these types of iterations. Our visitor's ability to take in the local culture is definitely an added bonus. Guam has again proven to offer terrific hospitality and fantastic training opportunities for visiting Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines."