Crow Valley Range Complex
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The Crow Valley Bombing and Gunnery Range (IATA: RPXC) was the main bombing range of the United States Armed Forces in the western Pacific and is located in Camp O'Donnell in Tarlac, The Philippines. The 42-mile facility was located approximately 14 miles from Clark Air Base and was primarily used for aerial combat training, which include bombing and strafing practice.
The facility featured an airfield as well as sophisticated electronic warfare installations, including advanced radar and radar jamming equipment and even a Russian surface-to-air missile installation.
The range was also used extensively during Cope Thunder exercises by forces from the Philippines, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and the Republic of Singapore.
At present, the facility is used occasionally for practice by the Philippine Air Force. It is also used as base camp for trails going to Mt. Pinatubo when not in use.
Security at Crow Valley was the responsibility of the Security Police assigned to the 3rd Tactical Electronic Warefare Training Squadron (3rd TEWTS) based at Camp O-Donnell and combined Air Force Security Policemen and local DoD Civilian Guards.
Crow Valley was home to the 6009th Security Police Training Squadron (SPTS). While headquartered at Clark Air Base as an attached unit of the 3rd Security Police Group, the 6009th SPTS was responsible for conducting Air Base Ground Defense (ABGD) Training at their facility at Crow Valley. This training program was known in the Air Force as "Commando Warrior". Security Police units from throughout Asia and the Pacific would come to Crow Valley for two weeks of intense jungle warfare style training focused on the techniques necessary to protect an air base in a foreign country (aka The Republic of Gunderstand). This training facility was also the site of the Air Force Office of Special Investigation's "Commando Crow" program, training agents in tactical counter-intelligence. These programs were active at this location through out the 1980's.
[edit] References
- Cope Thunder
- Inheritors of the Earth: The Human Face of U.S. Military Contamination at Clark Air Base, Pampanga, Philippines
- US bombing range plan for NT
[edit] See also
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