Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Kim McLendon | Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Katkus, the adjutant general.... read more read more
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By Petty Officer 1st Class Kim McLendon
Alaskan Command
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Exercise Northern Edge offers a unique training opportunity for members of all branches of the military – active duty, Reserve and Guard - on land, in the air and out to sea.
“There is no other place that provides what Alaska provides just through its sheer magnitude and size,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Katkus, the adjutant general, Alaska. “But more importantly to synchronize the effort of three major components in such a manner that you can do real-world training.”
The general said Alaska’s wide open ranges provide vast maneuverability with minimal obstructions that allows tremendous flexibility to test equipment. There are also few commercial aircraft to work around, many unpopulated areas to maneuver within and almost unlimited bandwidth capabilities.
Katkus, the senior military officer among the more than 4,000 Alaskan Guardsmen, said that bringing together more than 6,000 active duty, Reserve and Guard members from all branches of the military to train in Northern Edge is a wise decision.
“Training together makes perfect sense,” said the former light reconnaissance team commander. “Once they are deployed, they are totally integrated. If I don’t know them personally, I can’t tell whether they are regular Army or National Guard.”
An example of integration is the refueling effort for the 150 aircraft flying out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base in support of NE. National Guard tanker units from several states augmented the 168th Air Refueling Wing at Eielson to form a tanker task force. The units are not mixing crews but ‘falling in’ to combine operations for the various missions of NE, according to the general. The 168th ARW is the only Arctic region refueling unit for all of Pacific Air Forces and maintains a substantial number of personnel on active duty and civilian technician status to meet its daily operational requirements.
The general said exercise participants couldn’t ask for a better host.
“The people really like the military up here; we see it as a major industry,” he said. “From the governor to the citizen in small communities, they are very supportive of the military. It is why we attract so many military retirees.
“It’s a big state,” he added. “We can bring together land forces, air forces, sea base forces of the Navy.”
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2011 19:50 |
| Story ID: | 72648 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, AK, US |
| Web Views: | 97 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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