USAF Participates in Desert Flag 2024 Published May 17, 2024 By Tech. Sgt. Mercedee Wilds 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs UNDISCLOSED LOCATION -- U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from the 335th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina and U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 104th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the Maryland Air National Guard, as well as support personnel participate in Desert Flag 2024. They join multinational and regional partners within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility for the three-week exercise, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, April 21 to May 10, 2024. Desert Flag provides strategic training, which includes 10 countries and 12 separate airframes, to build upon a cohesive fighting force in the defense of the Arabian Peninsula. Along with the U.S., the participating countries include: France, Germany, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, and the United Kingdom. An A-10 pilot with the 104th FS said the countries have come together at Desert Flag for the same purpose. “We are all wanting to perfect our craft and the tactical execution of our mission sets,” said the A-10 pilot. “Being able to coordinate and work closely together to work towards that helps build the relationships that are required to operate effectively as a coalition.” Desert Flag is a Red Flag-style exercise that gives the A-10s, along with other countries, the opportunity to execute some of their primary mission sets, including close air support, forward air control and combat search and rescue, said the A-10 pilot. By effectively executing these skill sets, they were able to show their capabilities and build confidence with the partner nations. “We are all experiencing more confidence in our coalition partners by seeing how tactically proficient they are and knowing that if we were in a real-world, real-time contingency type scenario, we would be able to effectively integrate,” said the A-10 pilot. After nine years of Desert Flag, it has proven to provide critical touch points for multinational regional partners at the tactical, operational and strategic levels that builds upon the foundational knowledge to operate as a cohesive fighting force.