Hornets, Eagles work together to improve skills Published June 18, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Bryan Franks 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Eagle and Hornet pilots squared off in training missions over the Emerald Coast June 4-14 to better their flying skills and inter-service relationships. The 58th and 60th Fighter Squadrons from the 33d Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla., and the Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron-312 from Beaufort, S.C., pitted their skills against one another as part of Dissimilar Air Combat Training. More than 100 maintainers, 16 pilots and eight F-18s from the VMFA-312 came to Eglin to fly against the 33d FW's two fighter squadrons. In the past two weeks, the Eagle and Hornet pilots flew more than 80 DACT sorties. DACT involves flying different types of airframes against one another so pilots can learn how different types of airframes work in combat situations and how pilots from other services employ tactics. "We try to fly with as many different types of airframes and pilots that we can," said Capt. Jeff Zurick, 33d FW DACT officer and F-15C Eagle pilot. "It's important for our pilots to see the capabilities of different airframes and pilots as well as their own airframe under combat simulations." Captain Zurick has had the opportunity to fly against the F-18 Hornet on numerous occasions, but for at least one of the visiting Marine pilots, this was his first encounter with the F-15C. "We have guys that have a lot of time flying air-to-ground missions but little flying air-to-air and we wanted to get away from flying air-to-ground and focus strictly on air-to-air," said Capt. Alex Goodno, VMFA-312 F-18 pilot. "It's always good to do it against an aircraft that's different from yours; obviously, it will give you a different type of training." In the air is not the only place pilots from these sister services see differences. During debriefs, the pilots have different points of view on why they would employ certain tactics. "It's a great learning environment," Captain Goodno said. "I can take what I've learned from the Air Force pilots and see where we can improve in our service and vice a versa." The DACT missions are also a way for sister services, and in some cases allies, to communicate better and work together in preparation for future operations. "When we deploy in support of operations across the world we could easily be working with the Marines from Beaufort," Captain Zurick said. "So it's good to build those working relationships now before we have to deploy."