2015 Yea r In P h oto s On the Cover: A U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon from the 177th Fight- er Wing is flown over Bulgaria by Lt. Col. Timothy Hassel, 119th Fighter Squadron commander, during Thracian Star on July 20, 2015. The New Jer- sey unit from the Atlantic City ANG base, known as the Jersey Devils, participated in Thracian Star 2015, a bilateral training exer- cise to enhance interoperability with the Bulgarian air force. (U.S. Air Na- tional Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley/Released)

DECEMBER 2015, VOL. 49 NO. 13

THE CONTRAIL STAFF

177TH FW COMMANDER COL . JOHN R. DiDONNA CHIEF, PUBLIC AFFAIRS CAPT. AMANDA BATIZ SUPERINTENDENT, PUBLIC AFFAIRS MASTER SGT. ANDREW J. MOSELEY

EDITOR/PHOTOJOURNALIST TECH. SGT. ANDREW J. MERLOCK PHOTOJOURNALIST SENIOR AIRMAN SHANE S. KARP PHOTOJOURNALIST SENIOR AIRMAN AMBER POWELL

WWW.177FW.ANG.AF.MIL

This funded newspaper is an authorized monthly publication for members of the U.S. Military Services. Contents of The Contrail are not On desktop computers, click For back issues of The Contrail, necessarily the official view of, or endorsed by, the 177th Fighter Wing, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Depart- Ctrl+L for full screen. On mobile, and other multimedia products ment of the Air Force. The editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the Public Affairs Office of the 177th Fighter Wing. All tablet, or touch screen device, from the 177th Fighter Wing, photographs are Air Force photographs unless otherwise indicated. tap or swipe to flip the page. please visit us at DVIDS! U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jennifer Heller with the Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing Medical Group Atlantic City International Airport, N.J., prepares to give a shot during the base's Ebola Like Disease Containment Exercise. The base simulated responding to an Ebola outbreak after a deployment and paired it with giving flu and Hepatitis B shots Feb. 8, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jeff Campbell fixes a power steering problem on a vehicle on Feb. 26, 2015 at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J. Campbell is a vehicle mechanic assigned to the 177th Fighter Wing's Logistics Readiness Squadron. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) Col. John R. DiDonna, Jr., center, accepts command of the 177th Fighter Wing from Brig. Gen. Robert C. Bolton, left, commander of the New Jersey Air National Guard, during a change of command ceremony March 8, 2015 at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/ Released) A U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter pilot from the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Fighter Wing closes the canopy and runs aircraft system checks prior to flying a training mission at , Fla. on May 6, 2015. Fighter pilots, maintainers and support personnel from the 177th FW deployed to Tyndall for Combat Archer training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Gregory Gilkes, from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., fills out a checklist after inspecting a light cart on March 17, 2015. Gilkes, who works in the Aerospace Ground Equipment shop, checks the light cart step by step to make sure it is checked thoroughly before signing off on it. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Darwin Coverdale, right, and Airman 1st Class Joshua Thomas, avionics technicians from the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, remove a fire con- trol radar antenna from an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. on May 8, 2015 while Tech. Sgt. Robert Agzigian lends a hand to stabilize the array. 177th FW pilots, maintainers and support staff travelled to Tyndall for Combat Archer training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman David Ringer, left, from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Civil Engineering Squadron, uses a rachet strap to pull part of a fence into place before it is secured on May 21, 2015 at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. Before installing the new fence, Airmen removed the old one and cleaned out the drainage ditch, completing the job in one day. The New Jersey Airmen are on a deployment for training in Florida, partnering with Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and Air Station Clearwater. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) Operational checks of a F-16D Fighting Falcon are conducted on the flight line of the 177th Fighter, New Jersey Air National Guard Base, in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., on June 13, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by TSgt. Andrew J. Merlock, Jr./Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Bryan North with the 177th Communications Flight, at the 177th Fighter Wing, connect wires to a gate lock being replaced on March 17, 2015 at Atlantic City Air National Guard base, New Jersey. The fence seperates the flight line from the rest of the base and only those with proper clearance can enter through the gate. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force and New Jersey state fire protection specialists from the New Jersey Air Na- tional Guard's 177th Fighter Wing battle a simulated aircraft fire with Aqueous Film Forming Foam at Military Sealift Command Training Center East in Freehold, N.J. on June 12, 2015. Firefighters can spray the foam across the fire blanketing it so the oxygen is cut off and the fire is smothered. Airmen from the Wing hold annual training here to maintain mission readiness. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Roger Dallett, Aerospace Control Alert Technician with the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, gives a "Thumbs Up" prior to an incentive flight in a F-16D Fighting Falcon at the Atlantic City Air Guard base in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., on June 13, 2015. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by TSgt. Andrew J. Merlock, Jr./Released) U.S. Air Force Airmen from the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 177th Civil Engineering Squadron came together with fellow military service members and people from the community to line the halls of Clearwater International Airport, Fla. to welcome home veterans of World War II on May 19, 2015. The honor flight was returning from a trip to Washington D.C. to visit war memorials. (U.S. Air Force by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Mike Romanelli, an aerospace propulsions Airman from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing, conducts a throttle check on an F-16C Fighting Falcon as part of engine maintenance on the aircraft April 19, 2015 at Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J. Romanelli is assigned to the 177th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Christopher Fantasia, a tactical air control party airman with the New Jersey Air National Guard's 227th Air Support Operations Squadron, provides security during Operation Morning Coffee on June 16, 2015 at Warren Grove Gunnery Range, N.J. Airmen from the 227th ASOS partnered with New Jersey soldiers from the 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion Delta Company and 114th Infantry Regiment to conduct site exploitation and tactical interrogation training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force airmen, from the New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing Crash Disabled Damaged Aircraft Recovery team, maneuver an F-16 Fighting Falcon hooked up to a crane lift, Sept. 19, 2015, at Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Muse- um, N.J. The CDDAR team completed crane lift training, a tri-annual certification used in the event an immobile aircraft needs to be removed from a runway quickly and safely. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Melissa Seel, an aerospace medical technician from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Medical Group, grabs her emergency medical bag before heading to the scene of a simulated fuel spill on Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Aug. 7, 2015. Members from the 177th inte- grated with the active-duty force for the scenario-based inspection. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp/Released) U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Emily Carter, an emergency management Airman from the 177th Fighter Wing, connects the buckle to her helmet, a crucial ele- ment of Mission Oriented Protective Posture gear level 4, June 14, 2015, at At- lantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp/Released) U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Michael Curley, a tactical air control party airman with the New Jersey Air National Guard's 227th Air Support Opera- tions Squadron, provides security while being engaged by opposing forces during Operation Morning Coffee on June 16, 2015 at Warren Grove Gunnery Range, N.J. Airmen from the 227th ASOS partnered with New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers from the 104th Brigade Engineer Battalion Delta Company and 114th Infantry Regiment to conduct site exploitation and tacti- cal interrogation training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Ryan Cueva, crew chief from the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard, cleans the canopy of an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. on May 14, 2015. 177th FW pilots, maintainers and support staff traveled to Tyndall for Combat Archer training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley/Released) U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Adam Osmola, firefighter from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing, helps Mason Hicks spray a fire hose on June 18, 2015. "Mase the Ace," who suffered burns on 90 percent of his body, was honored at the Wing as Pilot for a Day. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) A U.S. Air Force crew chief belonging to the ACC F-22 Raptor Demo Team taxis the aircraft onto the flightline at the Atlantic City Air National Guard Base, N.J., Aug. 31, 2015. Two F-22s will be performing at this Wednesday's Atlantic City Airshow "Thunder Over The Boardwalk". (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Shane S. Karp/Released) Airman 1st Class Michael Siciliano and Senior Airman Juan Rivera, Airmen with the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing, prepare to go through a mock contamination control area January 8, 2015. The Airmen go through multiple sta- tions in their chemical gear in order to ensure their gear is decontaminated. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Amber Powell/Released) Two U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, from the New Jersey Air National Guard's 177th Fighter Wing, left, lead a mixed formation including a Bulgarian air force MiG -29 Fulcrum and MiG-21 Fishbed over Bulgaria during Thracian Star on July 20, 2015. Thracian Star 2015 is a bilateral training exercise to enhance interoperability with the Bulgarian air force, hosted by Graf Ignatievo Air Base. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Andrew J. Moseley/Released)