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From bustling planning cells to real-time threat assessments, a team of intelligence Airmen from across the U.S. played a pivotal behind-the-scenes role in Red Flag-Alaska 25-3 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
The intelligence team from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, visited JBER to participate in the third iteration of this year's Red Flag exercise. This multi-platformed exercise is one of the U.S. Air Force’s premier arctic based large-force combat exercises. The team helped plan missions, identify targets and track threats while working in intel fusion cells with operations and cyber units to share information quickly and clearly.
“This entire exercise definitely tested our ability to see what we can do with our joint military,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Amber Schmidt, an intelligence analyst with the 911th Aerial Refueling Squadron from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. “Red Flag is more than just takeoffs and landings; our intel team does a lot of heavy lifting behind closed doors.”
According to Schmidt, working in a joint exercise with the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force created a unique environment to learn and implement new problem solving tactics.
“Integrating and learning how things go down in the moment in a joint environment was the most important part,” said Schmidt. “Everyone has their role, and figuring out how to fit into those roles to support the mission was critical.”
For junior intelligence analysts, days began before sunrise with mission prep and threat updates, followed by live-scenario tracking and rapid adjustments as the “fight” unfolded. During training, they faced simulated jamming, communications breakdowns and heavily contested airspace as well. The high-tempo environment tested their ability to adapt and respond quickly when technology and clarity were limited.
“Red Flag didn't consist of anything I haven't prepared or trained for,” said Senior Airman Cobi Wulff, an intelligence analyst with the 911th ARS, assigned to Seymour Johnson AFB. “It gave me a chance to put into practice what I've learned in a real-time scenario.”
Hosted across Alaska and primarily focused on Indo-Pacific scenarios, Red Flag-Alaska is conducted multiple times a year. The multi-national training series provides realistic combat scenarios in a dynamic environment with the goal to sharpen warfighter readiness, enhance joint and coalition interoperability, and test mission planning under high-stakes, real-world conditions.
Though they never stepped into a cockpit, the intelligence analyst Airmen helped ensure every mission flown during Red Flag-Alaska 25-3 was grounded in insight and executed with precision, reinforcing their role as silent enablers of air superiority in the Arctic and beyond.
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.06.2025 17:13 |
| Story ID: | 544866 |
| Location: | ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Intel collaboration fuels Red Flag-Alaska behind the scenes, by Amn Eli Rose, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
