SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) kicked off Air and Missile Defense Exercise 21-02, a U.S.-led event that improves tactics, techniques and procedures against simulated air and missile threats and strengthens distributed operations capabilities, April 12, 2021.
Approximately 1,700 U.S. military personnel at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and multiple locations throughout the U.S. Central Command theater are participating in the semi-annual exercise.
“Air and Missile Defense exercises allow us to conduct distributed operations while under the pressure of simulated threats,” said Lt. Gen. Greg Guillot, commander of 9th Air Force (AFCENT). “These are opportunities to refine our command and control procedures, while also assuring our regional and coalition partners of our strong commitment to security and stability in the region.”
Throughout the two-week exercise, members from U.S. Army Central, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and 9th AF (AFCENT) work directly with long-standing partners to ensure interoperability between the various air and missile systems. In addition to exercising distributed operations, these regularly scheduled events test the transition of forces from steady-state operations to active combined defense of the region.
“Defense of the region relies on coalition and regional partner participation, in both real-world and exercise events,” said Freddy Williams, 9th AF (AFCENT) lead planner for AMDEX 21-02. “A real-world event is not the time to be sorting through shared roles and responsibilities or testing communication capabilities. We deliberately plan and execute these training opportunities to maximize our collective strengths and increase interoperability.”
The U.S. military regularly participates in exercises with joint, coalition and regional partners in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility each year. AMDEX is a semi-annual exercise and was last held in the fall of 2020.