Photo By Staff Sgt. Divine Cox | Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division prepare to jump out of a C-17 Globemaster...... read more read more
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - In support of NATO allies, Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing completed a personnel air drop mission, Nov. 4 at Zaragoza Air Base, Spain, during an exercise titled Ultimate Reach.
Exercise Ultimate Reach is an annual U.S. Transportation Command sponsored live-fly exercise designed to exercise the ability of 18th Air Force to plan and conduct strategic airdrop missions. Ultimate Reach partnered with NATO Exercise Trident Juncture, which was held in multiple locations across Europe.
Trident Juncture/Ultimate Reach was the largest NATO exercise conducted in the last 20 years and demonstrated the collective capabilities of the alliance to deter aggression.
"A lot of planning was involved to make this exercise a successful one," said Capt. Daniel Naske, 15th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III pilot and lead planner." We were able to show the Air Force's ability to move forces anywhere in the world in a matter of hours."
Ultimate Reach allowed U.S. forces to work with Allied and sister services to refine our processes in preparation for real-world events.
Two C-17 crews from Joint Base Lewis-McChord flew more than 150 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team across the Atlantic to conduct a joint forcible entry exercise over Zaragoza, Spain.
"This was a great opportunity to show that we were able to work together," said Capt. Matthew Hall, 7th Airlift Squadron C-17 pilot. "Once we got all jumpers loaded, we took off and had them dropped at the drop zone within hours."
America's Global Response Force provides combatant commanders with critical options to respond to international crises, but cannot do so without the trained and validated support from its joint Air Force partners and sister services.
More than 36,000 troops, 5,000 of them from the U.S., from 34 troop-contributing NATO member nations participated in the exercise.
"This exercise truly demonstrated how the Air Force plays a role in the big picture," said Hall. "Not only did it demonstrate our partnership with the Army, but it also demonstrated our ability to work hand-in-hand with joint and total force partners in order to accomplish whatever mission our nation requires of us."
| Date Taken: | 11.02.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2015 13:34 |
| Story ID: | 181783 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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