Nevada Air Guard teams with Air Force in 'classic association' to form 422 Test and Evaluation Squadron
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 06/10/2020 - 11:40am
The Nevada Air National Guard will team with the active duty Air Force to form a classic association with the already established 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron located at Nellis Air Force Base, Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry announced Wednesday.
A classic association is a squadron made up of both active duty and the National Guard personnel. An active duty Air Force unit — in this case the 422nd — retains principal responsibility for the squadron’s assigned weapon system or systems and shares the equipment.
Within the classic associate structure, the active-duty and National Guard retain separate organizational structures and chains of command. The Nevada Guardsmen will report to the Nevada Air National Guard State Headquarters in Carson City.
The 422nd TES at Nellis AFB is the premier Air Force squadron that performs operational test and evaluation for many airframes, including A-10, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, F-22, and F-35. The squadron evaluates hardware, software, and weapons upgrades prior to fielding and conducts tactics development, foreign materiel exploitation, and special access programs to optimize system combat capability. The squadron also conducts field visits to instruct operational aircrews on new systems and tactics. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group at Nellis AFB and the 53rd Wing based at Eglin AFB, Fla., provides oversight of the 422nd.
The Nevada Air Guardsmen will conduct F-35, F-22, and F-16 operational test and will be comprised of operational test pilots. Additionally, the newly formed squadron will support the Virtual Test and Training Center as well as provide F-35 maintenance support.
“As commander-in-chief of the Nevada National Guard, I am very proud to celebrate this historic achievement,” said Nevada governor Steve Sisolak, “Nellis Air Force Base is home to the very best combat aviators in the world, and our Nevada citizen-airmen will be key to the continued success of this significant national defense mission.”
About 69 Nevada Guard officers and enlisted personnel will join the squadron.
The classic association agreement was finalized April 3 during the bi-annual Total Force Integration Roundtable that included the Director of the Air National Guard, Lt. Gen. L. Scott Rice; Chief of the Air Force Reserve, Lt. Gen. Richard Scobee; and the Commander, Air Combat Command, Gen. Mike Holmes.
