Bold Tigers charge into Alaska for Northern Edge 09

Published June 30, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Andrew W. Miller
Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau

EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (ACCNS) -- Bold Tigers of Mountain Home's 391st Fighter Squadron participated in Alaska's largest joint training event, Exercise Northern Edge 2009, June 15 to 26 at Eielson Air Force Base.

Mountain Home supported the exercise by deploying approximately 14 aircraft and more than 300 airmen to the land of the midnight sun, a trip of more than 2,000 miles.

While at Eielson, F-15E aircrews from the 391st FS flew approximately 170 sorties for more than 400 flight hours while conducting joint training missions. The missions included dropping both live and inert bombs and various guided munitions, according to Capt. Patrick McMorrow, 391st FS intelligence officer.

"We were training for joint deployments and any future contingencies," said Captain McMorrow. "It really helps when we can integrate with other airframes and exercise in a large force environment."

Although the event was headquartered out of Elmendorf Air Force Base, activities took place across the massive training grounds of Alaska in order to prepare joint forces to respond to crises in the Asian Pacific region. Servicemembers from all branches of the military trained together in order to hone their tactics, techniques and procedures associated with defensive counter-air, close-air support, air interdiction of marine targets and personnel recovery missions.

According to Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins, Alaskan Command and 11th Air Force commander, being able to train here is valuable because there are more than 65,000 square miles of available training space over land, and 120,000 when including the Gulf of Alaska. This space includes Alaska's Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, Gulf of Alaska restricted air space, and an in-transit corridor connecting military training air space and live-fire training ranges.

"Northern Edge is the premier exercise conducted within the Pacific Command's area of responsibility," said General Atkins. "It lets our joint warfighters learn about each other."

Learning about each other, and the way the varying services operate is very important according to Air Force Maj. Lyle Dawley, Northern Edge exercise control team chief.

"Communication can be a big challenge," he said. "We don't always speak the same language whether we are on the ground or in the air."

That is something he said he hopes servicemembers learned from and took away from this exercise considering there were almost 5,000 servicemembers who participated in the exercise aboard ships in the Gulf of Alaska and approximately 2,000 who were here from other bases and stations across the United States, Japan and Korea.