Sentry Savannah - Because losing is not an option Published May 4, 2016 By Tech. Sgt. Amber Williams 165th PA Savannah, Ga -- Imagine the world's best fighter jets and fighter pilots duking it out, roaring over the Atlantic Ocean just off of Georgia's coast. Teams of Red Air and Blue Air fight to the death to meet a specific objective and accomplish the mission. That is exactly the training the Air Dominance Center at the 165th Airlift Wing, in Savannah, Georgia aims to provide for their customers. The customers are military units from all branches, across the U.S. and around the world. They come to Savannah to hone their skills to be the very best. Participating in the exercise, were F-22 Raptors and T-38 Talons from Tyndall Air Force Base, F-16 Fighting Falcons from Sioux Falls, S.D., F-15 Eagles from Jacksonville, Fl. and KC-135 Stratotankers from Wichita, Kan. and Phoenix, Ariz. "We are doing some dissimilar basic fighting maneuvers because it is not often that we are at the same base with another fighter," said Maj. Matthew Evers, an F-22 pilot from Tyndall Air Force Base and project officer for Sentry Savannah. "We wanted to practice our basic mission which is offensive counter air, defensive counter air, and some air to ground training," said Evers. "We wanted to get a variety of those kinds of missions." In comparison with the latest fourth generation and fifth generation fighter jets, it may seem strange that T-38 Talons are also participating in Sentry Savannah because it is generally a trainer aircraft that lacks a radar. "We can mimic any aircraft," said Maj. Dan Stoker a T-38 pilot from Tyndall Air Force Base. "Our main set back is that we don't have a radar which makes the T-38 uniquely qualified to fight the F-22's because no one can see it anyway." Although involvement from the T-38 Talons requires more coordination, that is no problem with the help of local air traffic controllers. "Radar controllers from the 117th Air Control Squadron and 143rd Air Control Squadron will direct us and we have our own game plan that is heavily set on timing," said Stoker. "The ADC advertises Sentry Savannah as lite Red Flag. Red Flag is a robust exercise that has every aspect of war fighting such as logistics and intelligence. So there are a lot of hoops to jump through before we get into the fight. When we come here it is still a large force exercise but with a focus specific for fighters," said Stoker. The ADC has been hosting Sentry Savannah since 2014 but has been hosting similar exercises since the 1980's. Overall, the ADC typically hosts approximately 300 aircraft and 7,000-10,000 personnel annually from all branches, making Savannah a prominent yet inexpensive means to maintain familiarity with dissimilar aircraft for fighter units and ultimately help the U.S. Air Force maintain air superiority.