Norway welcomes Air National Guard for Arctic Challenge

BREKSTAD, NORWAY

05.22.2019

Story by Senior Airman Maria Rella 

108th Wing

U.S. Air National Guard Airmen are converging on Ørland Air Base, Brekstad, Norway, to participate in Arctic Challenge Exercise 2019. Beginning May 22 and continuing through early June, ACE takes place every other year and seeks to train multinational forces in air operations
over Sweden, Finland, and Norway. For this year’s iteration, Sweden is taking the lead.

As one of the largest air operations in Europe, ACE coordinates 140 aircraft and over 4,000 troops from nine NATO and partner nations. The types of aircraft include multi-role fighters, transport and liaison aircraft, aerial refueling tankers, airborne warning and control system aircraft (AWACS), and transport and search and rescue helicopters.

Ørland is hosting KC-135R Stratotankers and personnel from three U.S. Air National Guard bases: the 108th Air Refueling Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.,155th Air Refueling Wing, Lincoln Air National Guard Base, Neb., and the 185th Air Refueling Wing, Colonel Bud Day Field, Sioux City, Iowa.

Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian forces regularly conduct cross-border training, giving them the experience to lead coordination and planning for ACE 19. The development of ACE is intended to provide the same level of scenario-based training between countries and services as other flag-level exercises.

• Date Taken: 05.22.2019
• Date Posted: 05.23.2019 13:42
• Story ID: 323642
• Location: BREKSTAD, NO