Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing to conduct night training missions this week, possibly over C.O.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) - The Oregon Air National Guard’s 142nd Wing will conduct routine F-15 Eagle night training missions from Tuesday through Thursday of this week, and they could fly over Central Oregon airspace.
Night training allows the Citizen-Airmen pilots based at the Portland Air National Guard Base to stay current with mandatory Air Force requirements.
"Night flying training is pivotal to ensuring our pilots are ready to protect the skies of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest at any time," said Tech. Sgt. Alex Frank, 142nd Wing public affairs representative. "Nothing is more important than serving and supporting our local communities, and training like this allows us to better defend our state and nation."
Steven Conklin, public affairs superintendent for the 142nd Wing, tells NewsChannel 21 the pilots "do prefer to use the airspace over the Pacific, but have airspace they can use in Central Oregon, depending on the weather."
Night flying is conducted as an essential training requirement for nighttime maneuvers. Training flights will be completed each evening before 10:30 p.m.
About the 142nd Wing:
The Portland Air National Guard Base employs around 1,500 Airmen who provide an economic impact of nearly $500 million to the region. The 142nd Wing defends our homeland with F-15 Eagle fighter jets, guarding the Pacific Northwest skies from Northern California to the Canadian border, as part of Air Combat Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Their mission is to provide unequaled, mission-ready units to sustain combat aerospace superiority and peacetime tasking any time, any place in service to our nation, state and community.
