Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; January 2024

January turned out to be a better monitoring month than I'd hoped. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade began flying again after returning from a deployment to Europe; it was nice to hear the skies over Savannah busy with their activity again. The 165th AW received their first C-130J late in the month, which means they'll be flying again soon as well. In addition to the planned road trip to Florida's Space Coast providing some variety from the normal things heard at home, there was unexpected activity at the Georgia ANG's Savannah Combat Readiness Training Center/Air Dominance Center (CRTC/ADC). 

Update on 71st FS Training at the Savannah CRTC/ADC

I had a good opportunity to monitor yesterday afternoon's 71st FS activity out of the Savannah CRTC/ADC at Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. Based on what I heard, it sounds like this week's activity is a Sentry Savannah exercise. Unlike last week, when they flew in the afternoon and evening, yesterday the flew in the morning and the afternoon. VMFAT-501 F-35Bs and VFC-12 F/A-18s also participated yesterday, both flying out of MCAS Beaufort. Here's an updated list of frequencies and callsigns in use:

71st Fighter Squadron Training at the Savannah Air Dominance Center

When I returned home from my Space Coast Road Trip, I discovered that some visitors had arrived at the Savannah Air Dominance Center at the Savannah-Hilton Head IAP. It turned out that they were 71st Fighter Squadron (FS) F-22As. They didn't fly over the weekend or on the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday, but they did start flying on Tuesday. More visitors arrived during the holiday on Monday: 7th Fighter Training Squadron (FTS) T-38As. On Tuesday, the 71st FS F-22As flew during the afternoon and evening, joined by 7th FTS T-38As during the afternoon. During the evening flights, the F-22s were joined by a 434th ARW KC-135R for aerial refueling operations. Afterwards, the KC-135 landed at Hunter AAF, where it may remain for more aerial refueling with the F-22s throughout the rest of the week. 

Space Coast Road Trip Radio Report; 8-13 January 2024

Last week I took a road trip to Florida's Space Coast to take in nature and wildlife at the Canaveral National Seashore and Merritt Island NWR and the past, present, and future of space travel at the Kennedy Space Center. Throughout the week, I also enjoyed listening to the wide variety of communications in the Space Coast area - aviation and Military communications, NASA and federal communications, private space company communications, and more. I also took a boat tour of the Banana River and Port Canaveral while I was there and that yielded a wonderful surprise. The weather was somewhat uncooperative on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, but it still turned out to be a terrific trip. Some excellent meals were had at restaurants along the way, including a great meal with friends. Overall, it was a wonder, enjoyable trip - one that is becoming an annual thing. 

Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; December 2023

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. 

Even though the holidays reduced the amount of MilCom activity and I simply didn't have as much radio time as I usually do, December still turned out to be an eventful radio month. Fort Stewart and Hunter AAF underwent a radio system upgrade (Fort Stewart Central's words) and the talkgroups have all changed; extensive listening will be needed to figure out what's what. What I have identified so far has been submitted to RadioReference. F-16s from Shaw AFB conducted an overnight exercise over and around coastal South Carolina on 14 December (I was lucky to hear it because I was staying up overnight to get back on my midnight shift sleeping schedule). It was also a pleasure to hear A-10s from Moody AFB using Townsend Range several times during the month. Finally, just before Christmas it sounded like Gulfstream attempted a record flight from Tokyo to Savannah. January should see some more extensive logs as I'll have more radio time, hopefully including some from a road trip I have planned to the Space Coast. 

Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; November 2023

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. 

Even though military activity slowed down during the Thanksgiving holiday, November still turned out to be a great month for military monitoring in Coastal Georgia. ATAC was at MCAS Beaufort working with both VMFAT-501 and VMFA-312. Several good VHF/UHF band openings offered an opportunity to hear things a bit farther afield than I normally can hear and a road trip to Columbia, SC gave me the opportunity to monitor JNGB McEntire and Shaw AFB from a closer distance than usual. On the Saturday of the Ohio State v Michigan rivalry college football game, LEGEND 621, a VP-62 P-8A did the flyover and I caught it departing NAS Jacksonville on the way up. I even managed to catch a NASA aircraft transiting the Coastal Georgia area late in the month (NASA 8, which I hadn't heard in a year and a half).

Road Trip Radio Report: Columbia, SC - 27/28 November 2023

I took a couple of extra days off along with the Thanksgiving holiday and as part of those days off, I took an overnight road trip to Columbia, SC. I left Savannah on Monday afternoon, stopped in Swansea, SC for dinner, then continued to a hotel in Cayce, SC to stay the night. On Tuesday morning, I visited the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia then headed back to Savannah just after lunchtime. This Columbia road trip was a bit different because I used US-321 for the northbound trip but used I-26 and I-95 to return to Savannah due to the multiple work zones I encountered on 321 on Monday afternoon.