JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Pacific Air Forces Airmen and aircraft from across the command joined together at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, April 22, 2019 to participate in a dispersal exercise throughout Micronesia.
The exercise, named Resilient Typhoon, is designed to validate PACAF’s ability to adapt to rapidly developing events, like inclement weather, while maintaining readiness in support of allied and partner nations throughout the region.
The exercise tests PACAF’s ability to execute flight operations from multiple locations in order to maintain readiness and involves Airmen and aircraft concentrated in one place – Andersen AFB – separating via a dispersal, recovering, and then rapidly resuming operations at airports and airfields in: Guam, Tinian, Saipan, The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and Palau.
Scheduled training activities include: airfield rescue firefighting, post-disaster communications, and the rapid movement of people and cargo which share resources and foster interoperability.
“Operational environments and global threats evolve rapidly,” said Brig Gen Michael Winkler, PACAF director of strategy, plans and programs. “We must ensure that all forward-deployed forces are ready for a potential contingency with little notice and that we can move more fluidly across the theater to seize, retain and exploit the initiative in any environment.”
The general added that while Andersen serves as a premier power projection platform, a number of factors – to include weather – can influence how PACAF maneuvers and postures forces in the region. Over the past year, the threat and impact of inclement weather has become increasingly relevant in the wake of typhoons that created training stoppages during the most recent iterations of both the Vigilant Shield and Cope North exercises in Guam.
Units and aircraft participating in the Resilient Typhoon exercise include: F-16s from Misawa Air Base, Japan’s 35th Fighter Wing; F-15C Eagles from Kadena Air Base, Japan’s 18th Wing; C-130Js from Yokota Air Base, Japan’s 374th Airlift Wing; C-17s and F-22s from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam’s 15th Wing and 154th Wing (Hawaii Air National Guard); and supplemental capabilities and personnel from the 36th Wing, Andersen AFB, and 3rd Wing, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
Military forces routinely operate and train from and in the vicinity of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as well as the FSM and Palau in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
“Pacific Air Forces appreciates the long-history of support it has enjoyed in the region and strives to be a good partner with the people across Micronesia in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Winkler said. “These exercises serve to enhance our relationships, while also providing invaluable training and operational readiness. Our Airmen will be exercising innovative concepts with as light and agile a footprint as possible, while upholding the strictest safety and environmental standards.”
Static displays of the aircraft and interactions with the Airmen operating and maintaining them will be made available to the public as mission allows. More information will be made available through local media outlets through Joint Region Marianas.