Thule Air Base was the scene of an historic event of multinational cooperation between three countries that less than 20 years ago glared at each other across the Cold War's Iron Curtain.
American, Danish and Ukrainian air forces successfully completed Operation Brilliant Ice 2009 March 26 after transporting more than 140,000 gallons of fuel and 17 tons of supplies to the Danish military outpost, Station Nord, 600 miles northeast of here.
The operation, nicknamed "Cossacks on Ice," began March 9 and required 16 trips on a Ukrainian IL-76 Ilyushin aircraft to transport the supplies.
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AF General
Striving for excellence is standard for the people at the Global Information Grid facility here. They have placed no lower than runner-up in the Europe Defense Information Systems Agency annual awards since 2001.
They garnered a first place finish once again, capturing the DISA Outstanding GIG Facility of the Year title. Same-sized facilities across Europe within the Air Force, Army and Navy compete for this award.
There are several factors Kevin Kuhtmann, an ITT Industries contractor working for the 52nd Communications Squadron here, attributes to this success.
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Approximately 1,400 U.S. and foreign participants will be arriving at Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force bases beginning April 13 to participate in Red Flag-Alaska 09-2, scheduled for April 16 to May 1.
Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S. Forces, provides joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close-air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. These exercises are conducted on the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range complex with air operations flown out of the two bases. Alaska's size enables the military to have the largest air-ground training complex in America.
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As the Federal Emergency Management Agency teams with the military to fight the Red River flood in North Dakota, Grand Forks Air Force Base officials continue to support the effort as the National Logistics Staging Area.
Twenty-three aircraft, from the Army, Coast Guard, Army National Guard and other Air Force units, landed at Grand Forks AFB and have begun flying missions in support of the flood efforts.
While here, these aircraft are being controlled by a single entity, the Air Operations Center. The AOC is the central command location for all air flood support going in and out of the Grand Forks area.
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"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all."
Although many years have passed since George Washington spoke these words, they apply as much today as they did then. Discipline is a state of order based on submission to rules and authority. The state of order that results when rules and authority are uniformly complied with is absolutely critical to a military force and success in the battlespace.
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Airmen are on a mission to provide clean drinking water to the residents of Roi-Namur, an island approximately 3,900 kilometers southwest of Hawaii.
Three Airmen from the 18th Civil Engineer Squadron from Kadena Air Base along with three Airmen from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, are at the second largest and northernmost island within the Kwajalein Atoll to help with the water supply after it became contaminated.
"Recent tidal wave conditions flooded the island and contaminated the lens wells here," said Tech. Sgt. Matthew Mattes, an 18th CES utilities systems journeyman and team leader.
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Members of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing women's history committee hosted a lunch symposium March 28 here to highlight the contributions of female servicemembers both past and present.
A panel consisting of senior leaders, squadron commanders and functional specialists shared their experiences and thoughts on the contributions of their predecessors and where they see the future opportunities of females to excel for Women's History Month.
"We wanted an opportunity to recognize those who paved the way for us to come into the service," said Capt. Sherry Souriolle, the 380th AEW Sexual Assault Response Coordinator and symposium coordinator. "What a great way to highlight the contributions of females but in a deployed environment."
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Members of the 374th Security Forces Squadron here conducted a joint response training exercise with members of the Japanese National Police-Fussa Division March 26 here.
Fussa officials came up with idea of a joint unexploded ordnance response and investigation exercise to educate new police leaders and patrolmen on responding to just such an incident at Yokota Air Base.
More than 20 security forces members and local policemen blended their unique talents during the exercise based in part on real attacks on the base during a Group of Eight summit in 2000 and shortly before a visit by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993. According to news reports, leftists radicals fired a pair of projectiles toward the base and one landed near the runway in 2000. In the 1993 attack, radicals fired two home-made rockets at the base and caused minimal damage.
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The U.S. Air Forces in Europe command chief talked to Royal Air Force Lakenheath Airmen about how women have played a large part in history, which is especially true in the military.
Chief Master Sgt. Pamela Derrow visited RAF Lakenheath and spoke to base Airmen about the significance of Women's History Month.
"Women's History Month is very important because it recognizes and celebrates the historic achievements of women," Chief Derrow said. "I think that in the past, the role of American women was consistently overlooked and probably undervalued sometimes in literature, teachings and history prior to the 1980s. Since then, I think we have done a much better job educating people on the significant role women play in American history and contemporary society."
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Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations March 30, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.
In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and an MQ-1 Predator engaged anti-Afghan forces near Nurestan using rockets and strafing fire from the A-10s, and a Hellfire missile from the unmanned aircraft system. The strike took place during a firefight on the ground in which anti-Afghan gunmen hit a coalition patrol with assault weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. The strikes allowed the friendly unit to withdraw and inflicted casualties on the anti-Afghan attackers.
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