An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : Media : News : News Article View
NEWS | July 13, 2022

Air Force Focuses on Future of Indo-Pacific Alliances, Agile Combat Employment

By Kelley Schlitt Air Force Medical Service

FALLS CHURCH, VA. -- The Cope North 2022 exercise in Guam marked a decade of Indo-Pacific security cooperation between Japan, Australia, and the United States and an opportunity to modernize training for the future.

Cope North tests how well medics from the three nations operate during challenging scenarios, and to strengthen partnerships.

“Large exercises like Cope North provide an opportunity to prepare for future missions that will require us to work seamlessly with partner nations,” said Lt. Col. Cherielynne Gabriel, Pacific Air Forces International Health Specialist team lead. “We have to practice using each other’s equipment and communicating under difficult circumstances, to be ready to save lives when it counts.”

Agile Combat Employment

Knowing that future contingencies will be unlike the past, International Health Specialist coordinators focused on integrating Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concepts in the exercise. ACE doctrine, which was approved in December by U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., emphasizes sustaining a competitive advantage in a contested environment.

ACE decentralizes command and control in a situation where communication is interrupted, and higher-level support is limited. It empowers Airmen and increases the speed of maneuvering dispersed assets and personnel.

Decentralization helps address the challenges of operating across a vast ocean dotted with islands. Agreements with partner nations to share resources aid in developing a network that can continue working together or independently if one or more of its components is disconnected.

“To put ACE into practice during the exercise, the United States operated the main hub on Guam while the Royal Australian Air Force operated two spokes on other islands with expeditionary medical support facilities,” said International Health Specialist and Cope North 2022 lead medical planner, Lt. Col. Nelson Pacheco. “Each of the treatment facilities would be able to continue patient movement operations in the case of losing support from the main hub.”

The tools medics use must also work in disconnected locations. For the first time in Cope North, medics used the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK). BATDOK developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing, is a smartphone application that assists medics in collecting vital signs and helps guide them when delivering care.

“BATDOK is a powerful tool to support adoption of Agile Combat Employment concepts,” Pacheco said. “Even when communication is down, it still provides medics with access to customized, digitized medical standard of care guidelines and procedures when they need it most. Our partner nations were interested in further adoption and integration of this innovative technology that can enable [medics] to function beyond the capabilities of their primary specialties.”

ACE emphasizes developing multi-capable Airmen with multiple qualifications or skillsets. This is one example of how ACE is supporting Joint All Domain Operations, a warfighting blueprint that leverages integration of forces and flexibility. Cross-functional teams enable a more agile force with a smaller footprint to maintain continued operations.

Agility and flexibility of Airmen is also important during patient movement where medics must adapt and take advantage of “vehicles of opportunity” to transfer a patient from the point of injury to receive emergency medical treatment. To put this into practice, medics conducted a casualty evacuation on an aircraft not used during Cope North before.

“Medics encountered an unfamiliar partner nation aircraft that is not usually dedicated to patient movement. This provided an opportunity to practice casualty evacuation in a real-world type of scenario,” Gabriel said. “Military medics must be flexible and capable enough to collaborate in unusual and unplanned ways.”

Cope North’s Future

Because of Cope North’s value in executing the combatant command campaign plan, planners are increasing expeditionary medical activities in future iterations by broadening scenarios to expand Critical Care Air Transport interoperability and working with the special forces community to leverage their latest equipment and procedures. In addition, planners aim to expand multinational participation as regional allies and partners transition from observers to participants.

“Investing in our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific is essential to implement Agile Combat Employment,” said Pacific Air Forces command surgeon, Col. Susan Moran. “In times of crisis, the United States does not respond alone. Our network of alliances and partnerships remain the backbone of global security. Together we are stronger.”

Moran stressed that Cope North is not just an exercise, but a rehearsal.

“We value multi-lateral exercises such as Cope North to validate our… team’s readiness. We appreciate the opportunity to learn from and with our partners as we continue to advance our medical capabilities. Together our goal is to deter aggression, maintain stability, and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Cope North is an annual large-force employment, aerial-combat and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise, designed to improve partner nation cooperation, boosting readiness of the participants to conduct contingency operations together. Australia was added as a participant in 2012, and medical observers from 13 countries attended in 2022.
CONNECT WITH USINDOPACOM

ENGAGE & CONNECT MORE WITH PACOM

                                                 

IN THE USINDOPACOM NEWS
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Honors Last USS Arizona Survivor
A memorial poster recognizes the service of the last survivor from battleship USS Arizona (BB-39), Louis Al. (Lou) Conter, during a ceremony on the USS Arizona memorial on April 23, 2024. Retired Lt. Cmdr. Conter first enlisted in 1939, and he served more than 27 years in the U.S. Navy, including as a pilot during the Korean War. Conter passed away April 1 at the age of 102, and he devoted much of his life to preserving the memory of the 2,403 Americans killed and 1,178 wounded during the attack on Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Shannon M. Smith)
April 24, 2024 - HONOLULU — U.S. Indo-Pacific Command service members and Pearl Harbor National Park Service employees attended the memorial ceremony in honor of the last survivor from USS Arizona, Louis Al. (Lou) Conter, on April 23, 2024...

Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on the House Passage of the National Security Supplemental
Graphic intended for use as a placeholder for Statements and Press Releases without accompanying imagery.
April 23, 2024 - "I welcome the passage of the critical national security supplemental, which will help the Department of Defense support Ukraine and Israel, bolster security in the Indo-Pacific, and stand firm with our Allies and partners...

U.S. Coast Guard partners conduct Multi-Agency Strike Force Operation at the Port of Guam
U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam personnel spearhead a comprehensive Multi-Agency Strike Force Operation (MASFO), meticulously inspecting 172 containers at the Port of Guam, on April 18, 2024. This operation is part of ongoing efforts to ensure the safety and security of containerized cargo, which is crucial for the island's economy and environmental protection. The MASFO brought together various agencies, including the Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency, Port Authority Police, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other law enforcement and regulatory bodies. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Josiah Moss)
April 23, 2024 - On April 18, 2024, U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam spearheaded a comprehensive Multi-Agency Strike Force Operation (MASFO), meticulously inspecting 172 containers at the Port of Guam...

U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Travels to Japan
Adm. John C. Aquilino, right, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, inspects the Japan ground self defense force special honor guard with Japanese Chief of Staff, Japan Joint Staff, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida during a visit to Tokyo, April 22, 2024. The visit included exchanges on regional security and mutual partnership, further developing the strategic partnership with Japan codified in the 1960 U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, fighting to win. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John D. Bellino)
April 23, 2024 - TOKYO — Adm. John C. Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, visited Japan from April 21-23, 2024. This was Aquilino’s final overseas engagement with partners and Allies as commander of USINDOPACOM. Aquilino will be...

South Korea’s largest air exercise proves ‘Accept Follow-on Forces’ mission
Republic of Korea Air Force F-15K Slam Eagles and FA-50 Golden Eagles parked on the airfield at Kunsan Air Base, ROK, April 12, 2024. ROKAF follow-on forces arrived from across the country to participate in Korea Flying Training 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Nicholas Ross)
April 22, 2024 - A crucial aspect of any exercise for the 8th Fighter Wing is the reception of forces, and that was no different as the Wolf Pack hosts the largest air exercise in the Republic of Korea...