U.S. and Bangladesh Air Forces personnel joined together for the closing ceremony of Exercise COPE SOUTH 15 here Jan. 29.

Airmen from each force took the opportunity to thank each other for the teamwork, pro-fessionalism and close cooperation that was displayed during the exercise.

"COPE SOUTH is a prime example of how combined forces can rapidly respond and integrate with each other to execute airlift operations across the Pacific AOR during contingencies and crises," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Adam Staubach, 36th Airlift Squad-ron mission commander. "Like us, our Bangladesh Air Force counterparts value the peace and stability that airpower through partnership through can deliver to this region."

This year, U.S. and BAF Airmen flew 25 sorties, dropped 840 paratroopers and deliv-ered 20 low-cost, low-altitude and container delivery system airdrop bundles to forward drop zone locations. Eighty U.S. Airmen, along with three U.S. Air Force C-130H Hercules aircraft from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan, joined approximately 200 Bangladesh Air Force Airmen and one Bangladeshi C-130B aircraft from the 101st Special Flying Unit during the exercise. This year featured the first participation of F-7BG fighter aircraft from BAF's 5th Squadron, which provided intercept and escort duties for C-130 fight operations.

During CS15, U.S. and Bangladesh Air Forces exchanged airlift, air-land and airdrop delivery techniques aimed towards advancing their combined ability to respond to re-gional disasters.

Air Officer Commanding of BAF Base Bangabandhu Air Commodore Mohammad Obaidur Rahman said the tactics, techniques and procedures shared during the exercise are beneficial for ensuring BAF and U.S. interoperability during future opera-tions.

COPE SOUTH participants placed emphasis on developing USAF-BAF relationships and continuing to seek additional engagement opportunities, particularly in areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, aviation safety, airlift and aviation mainte-nance and logistics.

"Our BAF counterparts are true professionals," Staubach said. "We appreciate the close relationship we share and their willingness to host major events, exercises and opera-tions that are critical to advancing our mutual understanding of each other's capabilities and enhancing our ability to operate together."