By Staff Sgt. Gregory Brook

99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

An F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 64th Aggressor Squadron takes off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., to participate in a Joint Forcible Entry exercise over the Nevada Test and Training Range May 31, 2013. Under the Air Combat Command stand down that took effect June 1, the aggressors will be grounded through the end of the fiscal year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Daniel Hughes) The skies over southern Nevada are quieter than they have been in quite some time due to the June 1 Air Combat Command directed stand down of flying operations.

Despite the stand down, the 64th Aggressor Squadron remains committed to accomplishing their mission, said Lt. Col. Michael Shepherd, the 64th AGRS academic assistant director of operations.

“Our motto is ‘know, teach and replicate,’” Shepherd said. “As Aggressors, we are subject matter experts in a field of adversary tactics or systems anywhere from airplanes to missiles to actual tactics to electronic attacks.”

The 64th AGRS is assigned to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Their primary mission is to provide support to the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Red Flag exercises, the various test and evaluation squadrons and to provide training to units in the Combat Air Force on adversary tactics.