DOD ground, air forces train at Poinsett Range

Published May 18, 2011
By Senior Airman Alexandria Mosness
20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Shaw Airmen, along with Marines and Soldiers are among many who have used Poinsett Electronic Combat Range for real-world training for the last 50 years.

"Our job out here is to support the war fighter," said Jim O'Brien, range manager. "Our primary goal is to support Shaw Air Force Base, and it expands out from there."

Poinsett has been Shaw's primary training range since it opened in 1952, O'Brien said. The range transitioned from military to Air Force civilian management in 1988.

The range is 12,500 acres dotted with simulated buildings, convoys, missile sites and tanks to help provide the most realistic training opportunities.

Not only F-16 Falcons, F-15 Strike Eagles, F/A-18 Hornet and AC-130 Gunships practice dropping bombs and shooting bullets. Helicopters and ground forces also come out to the range to train. Joint terminal attack controllers from all over the southeast and Nellis AFB, Nev. use Poinsett extensively for training and qualification before being deployed. The southern-most area of the range is clear of the main impact area and has been used for survival, evasion, resistance and escape training, as well as day and night convoy training.

O'Brien discussed how different services use it for training as well.

"F-16's from Shaw and McEntire and Army helicopters are the primary users, but F-15E -Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18s from Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, S.C., and other military in the southeast practice scenarios at the range," O'Brien said.

The pilots receive real time scores on the accuracy of their mission, so they can make adjustments and improvements if necessary. The range has scoring system operators who score the pilot's mission and communicate the tally to their respective squadrons.

For those who might worry about live munitions, the pilots practice with inert training ordnance only, said George Nash, a scoring system operator. That can mean full-scale bombs filled with sand and concrete.

"Bombing is scored by computers and joystick inputs, triangulating on the weapon utilizing television cameras," Nash said. " They are located in each of our four towers."

Strafing, or firing aircraft guns, is scored differently than bombing. Instead of cameras, microphones are placed near the targets to measure the accuracy of the bullets.

"Each target has eight microphones on it for scoring strafing, to listen for the sound wave from the bullets," he said.

For the pilots, the range is prime grounds for practicing real-world missions.

"It's a lot of fun to train in this air space," said Capt. Casey Manning, 79th Fighter Squadron weapons and tactics F-16 pilot. "It is very good training, and it allows for real-time threats. It raises the stress level while still making us put bombs on target. We keep in direct contact with the range operators because safety is always a key factor in our training. The targets themselves appear as threats on the ground. This is a pretty spectacular setup for training."

The public is also allowed to visit the range to see the aircraft and military forces training, O'Brien said.

"It is good to know where the airplanes are going," he continued. "A lot of times, the community sees the aircraft, but don't know what they are doing. Now, they can come and see exactly what they are doing."

Poinsett Range hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday. The range is located in Wedgefield, S.C., about 12 miles south of Shaw on state Highway 261. For more information, please call 803-666-4272 or 803-895-2597.

News Search