LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The war in Iran has a connection closer to home than many Southern Nevadans may realize. From Nellis Air Force Base to Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, personnel and technology rooted in the Las Vegas Valley are contributing to missions abroad.
I spoke with David Radcliffe, president of the Nellis Support Team, about the role our community plays in the ongoing conflict.
WATCH | How Nellis and Creech are shaping the war effort in Iran
"Nellis is the Air Force's base for operational test, training, and tactics development. In addition, it's home to the United States Air Force Weapons School," Radcliffe said.
Radcliffe said that elite training puts graduates on the front lines of decision-making at the highest levels of military leadership.
"The Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Kane, is a weapons officer. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Cruiser Wilsbach, is a weapons officer. The commander of Air Combat Command... all weapons officers. I'd like to think it's because of the level of their training and experience that the nation trusts them," Radcliffe said.
Large-scale exercises at Nellis, like Red Flag, help prepare aircrews for actual combat and refine tactics.
"Sometimes these debriefs last 8, 10, 12 hours — to find out what we did right, what we did wrong, and how we get better so we don't lose lives in combat," Radcliffe said.
The focus then shifts to Creech Air Force Base, just 44 miles north of Las Vegas, where missions span the globe — including operations in the Middle East conducted from right here in Nevada.
"Persistent ISR, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, they're everywhere. Assets deployed in the Gulf, and it's open source that they were involved in Venezuela with the RQ-170," Radcliffe said.
Radcliffe said many of those unmanned aircraft conducting missions abroad have been operated from control stations inside Creech for more than 20 years.
"It's referred to as remote split operations… a sensor operator and a pilot will operate that air vehicle remotely — MQ-9, RQ-170 — via a satellite link," Radcliffe said.
Radcliffe said these missions, along with the training and tactics developed here, make Southern Nevada a key player in U.S. combat readiness.
"We're privileged to have the best of the very best come here to do operational tests, training at the weapons school, or command this installation. There's no place in the world like this," Radcliffe said.
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