Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; June 2024

The Monthly Military Monitoring Recap consists of frequencies and callsigns that I've heard in use in Coastal Georgia and during my travels (usually around South Carolina and Florida). Special Operations, Intelligence, and real-world Combat Air Patrol information will not be posted. Gulfstream (Savannah) and Boeing (Charleston) flight test frequencies and callsigns are also included as well as US Coast Guard, non-law enforcement FedCom, and civilian medevac callsigns, N-numbers, and frequencies. 

For the first month this year, it seemed there wasn't an exercise of some sort or a visiting unit flying out of the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center (perhaps potential visitors think it's too hot during the Summer to visit?). That, however, didn't prevent June from being an eventful month. A new unit began flying out of MCAS Beaufort, USCG Sector Charleston made some communications changes, there was a lot of AWACS activity, and a road trip to Columbia, SC (check the link for a full radio report along with information on the places I visited and some of the places I ate) gave me the opportunity to better listen to 20th FW F-16s from Shaw AFB and 169th FW F-16s and 1-151 AVN AH-64Es from McEntire JNGB.

Road Trip Radio Report: Midland and Pee Dee South Carolina History - Columbia, Camden, and Darlington, SC; 10-13 June 2024

From Monday, 10 June through Thursday, 13 June, I took a road trip through Columbia, Camden, and Darlington, SC visiting some historic sites while staying in Cayce, just east of Columbia. In Columbia, I visited Historic Columbia and toured some of their historic homes and gardens. In Camden, I visited the Historic Camden living history park. In Darlington, I visited the museum at Darlington Raceway (maybe not everyone would consider Darlington a historic site, but a motor sport fan surely would). Along the way, I made stops in Sumter to visit Thomas Sumter's grave, in Eutawville to visit the Eutaw Springs battlefield, in Pineville to visit Francis Marion's grave, and in Walterboro to visit the Tuskegee Airmen Memorial. It was also an interesting trip radio-wise; there was a lot of activity from both Shaw AFB, McEntire JNGB, and Fort Jackson; the Palmetto 800 system was busy with public safety communications from the region; and railroads were quite busy, especially in and close around Columbia. I also discovered that the VHF TRS at Shaw AFB was no longer a stand alone system, but now part of the USAF 57C system. Unusual for me, I also had a few amateur radio QSOs along the way.

Historic Columbia's hub - the Robert Mills House in downtown Columbia, SC

Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; May 2024

The Monthly Military Monitoring Recap consists of frequencies and callsigns that I've heard in use in Coastal Georgia and during my travels (usually around South Carolina and Florida). Special Operations, Intelligence, and real-world Combat Air Patrol information will not be posted. Gulfstream (Savannah) and Boeing (Charleston) flight test frequencies and callsigns are also included as well as US Coast Guard, non-law enforcement FedCom, and civilian medevac callsigns, N-numbers, and frequencies. 

May 2024 was a month in which I didn't have as much radio time as I would have liked, but the time I did have made for yet another outstanding month of monitoring. The month began with a USMC Amphibious Readiness Group working in the area and that was closely followed by another exercise and more visiting units at the Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center. The month also began with some indication that VMFA-533 at MCAS Beaufort may be back in the air. Finally, a new AirEvac Base was identified in Coastal Georgia.

Sentry Savannah 2024 Final Report

It sounds like we can tie a bow on Sentry Savannah today. This morning I caught some 71st FS F-22s, 7th FTS T-38s, and 157th FS F-16s departing Savannah to head home. Just as I turned on the radios, I also heard something that sounded like F-35s (I never heard their callsign) with Atlanta Center getting cleared direct to Montgomery, so the 100th FS F-35s may have departed this morning as well. In one piece of good fortune this morning, I was also able to finally ID who HECKLER is; they're the 103rd ACS, CT ANG. A social media post about the exercise linked to this article, which tells how the 103rd ACS worked with the Georgia ARNG to "successfully deploy and execute a cloud-based radar and radio connection of the Tactical Operations System-Lite (TOC-L)."

Here's a final report on what I heard when I was able to listen.

Air Combat Exercise Sentry Savannah 2024 Underway at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP

Note: Updated after the 9 May 2024 morning sorties

Sentry Savannah 2024, an air combat exercise, got underway in Savannah on Monday. Described as "the National Guard Bureau’s premier counter air exercise specializing in fourth and fifth-generation fighter tactics,” it is held at the Georgia Air National Guard's Combat Readiness Center/Air Dominance Center at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. This year's participants include F-22As and T-38s from the 71st FS and 7th FTS at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, F-35As from the 100th FS at ANGB Dannelly Field, and F-16CMs from McEntire JNGB. So far, they've been flying morning and afternoon sorties out to the SEALORD controlled Special Use Areas off the South Carolina/Georgia/Florida coast. Tanker support has been from 185th ARW KC-135Rs flying out of Hunter AAF and 157th ARW KC-46s flying out of Myrtle Beach. Intercept control is being provided by HECKLER, a callsign I've not heard before.