Approximately 200 Airmen from the 79th Fighter Squadron at Shaw AFB, South Carolina, returned home on 29 April 2011 after participating in a Green Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nevada. Green Flag is an exercise designed to prepare both the Army and Air Force for upcoming deployments. The two and a half week exercise, which stresses realistic combat training, replicates irregular warfare conditions like those found in current combat operations and gives pilots an unscripted battle exercise and training. F-16 pilots from the 79th FS, known as the Tigers, worked with US Army forces to provide airborne sensor and employment support during the exercise. The actual flying takes place in training airspace over the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
