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BANGOR AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, MAINE - German Air Defender 2023 took off recently and in true MAINEiac fashion, the Airmen of 101st Air Refueling Wing went full throttle for the exercise.
Part of the Northeast Tanker Task Force, Airmen from Bangor Air National Guard Base flew sorties to help support roughly 100 U.S. aircraft crossing the pond for German Air Defender, making sure they had what they needed to get to the exercise.
German Air Defender is a German hosted exercise that can proudly boast the largest deployment exercise of air forces in NATO's history and demonstrates transatlantic solidarity. The two week exercise includes involvement from a laundry list of airframes; including fighters, bombers, cargo, and of course tankers.
Colonel Ian Gillis, 101st ARW Commander, emphasized that the movement of ANG fighters into
Europe was supported solely by ANG cargo and tanker aircraft. He highlighted that this
displayed the capacity and ability of the ANG to rapidly project combat capability. "This historic
deployment was brought to Europe by the Tanker Task Force experts at Bangor and Pease
ANGBs" he added. Guardsmen at Bangor and Pease are considered some of the foremost
experts in Tanker planning and execution for fighter movements and without them this exercise
would not have gotten off the ground.
Flight missions include a variety of training missions including combined air assaults against coordinated defenses as well as offensive and defensive counter-air operations.
The parties at play have been planning this exercise for over a year, and involves over 10,000 participants from 25 countries.
“We stepped up to take care of our fellow Guardsmen who are going over to the exercise,” Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Salisbury said. He’s the Director of the Northeast Tanker Task Force (TTF) and seasoned pilot at the 101st ARW. “We’re surging to make sure this happens and to ensure the mission gets done. We have an extensive deep bench filled with planners and flyers ready to roll,” Salisbury continued with a smile on his face, clearly proud of the work he and his team are doing.
German Air Defender 2023 not only strengthens our transatlantic security with our partner nations, but it shows the world that we’re here, we’re ready, and we’re cohesive. The Air National Guard is a big part of that, making up a very large portion of its participants and airframes. “It’s a unique opportunity for the Guard to capitalize on the resources they’ve supported all these years,” Salisbury said. “We made supporting the participating aircraft our number one priority during that first week, and with TTF airplanes in Iceland, England, Bangor, and Halifax, we’re showing the world what we can do”.
The MAINEiacs are scheduled to support participating aircraft and crews upon returning from the exercise.
| Date Taken: | 06.16.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2023 10:51 |
| Story ID: | 447393 |
| Location: | BANGOR, ME, US |
| Web Views: | 65 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, German Air Defender Tanker Support, by MSgt Andrew Sinclair, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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