HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Eighteen New Jersey Air National Guardsmen from the 108th Operations Group participated in a three-week exercise, called Sentry Aloha, at Barber’s Point Aviation airfield in Kapolei, Hawaii, Aug. 2021.
The training is an annual Total Force Initiative that provides active, reserve and Guard pilots, aircrew, and maintainers with realistic combat training through a series of flight missions. The event is hosted by the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Wing and operated, this year, at both Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Barber’s Point.
“I'm loving it. It’s a great opportunity to bring a light ops and maintenance package to a different location and provide fuel to the fight,” said Lt. Col. Matthew Brito, commander of the 108th Operations Support Squadron.
Other wings that participated in the exercise included the 459th Air Refueling Wing, Joint Base Andrews, Md., 141st ARW, Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., and 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.
This year, however, marked the 108th Wing’s first appearance at Sentry Aloha and proved to be a success.
“Our job is to be at the right place, at the right time, to get the fuel to the receivers and ensure they get the training they need,” said Brito. “We accomplished that. The readiness of our force is critical to America’s defense. The 108th Wing continues to expand on efforts to advance agile combat capabilities and support their assigned mission at a moment’s notice."