Photo By Senior Airman Aaron Ketcham | Jalen Cottle, 77th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, operates the aerial refueling...... read more read more
NAVAL SUPPORT ACTIVITY SOUDA BAY, Greece – The 916th Air Refueling Wing participated in INIOCHOS 2025, a multinational exercise held from March 24 to April 11, 2025, at Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay and Andravida Air Base, Greece.
Now in its 20th year, Iniochos 25 was the largest yet of the annually held exercise with 15 participating nations conducting joint air operations, working together to cohesively integrate within contested airspace, enhancing joint capabilities and interoperability.
“It’s been a successful exercise across the board,” said Lt Col Andy Croom, 916th Air Refueling Wing pilot. Our ability to work as a joint force is imperative; to be able to demonstrate our capability of integrating and operating together in the air was a great experience.”
Croom spoke on the value exercises like Iniochos provide to Airmen, specifically reservists.
“Our Reservist must be prepared to confront the challenges posed by real-world threats,” said Croom. “This exercise not only demonstrated our readiness to meet these demands but allowed us to showcase, on a global stage, the capabilities brought by refueling.”
The 916th Maintenance and Support Groups both had squadrons participating in the exercise, working together to meet the refueling demands, both day and night, throughout the entirety of the exercise. Croom spoke on the continuity required between maintainers and flying squadrons and how it was represented throughout the exercise.
“The relationship between our flyers and maintainers is truly symbiotic, said Croom. “This exercise is meant to mirror the demands of an intense combat pace. It’s crucial that we operate as one cohesive force.” Their work on the ground ensures we can focus on flying missions effectively, and together we have a formidable operational capability.”
As Air Force Reserve Command continues to enhance operational and combat readiness, to ensure its airmen are ready to take on the demands of today’s ever-changing global environment, exercises like Iniochos continue to underscore the importance of Agile Combat Employment (ACE) capabilities of operating in a limited and degraded environment.
“In today’s military, air mobility and agility are of the utmost importance. Over the last 14 days, we demonstrated the essential role of air refueling in supporting joint operations and maintaining global security, said Croom.
Participating nations included France with the Mirage 2000, India with the Sukhoi Su-30, Israel with the Gulfstream G550, Italy with the Tornado, Montenegro with the Bell 412, Poland with the F-16 Fighting Falcon, Qatar with the F-15 Eagle, Slovenia with two Pilatus PC-9s, Spain with the F-18 Hornet, the United Arab Emirates with the Mirage 2000-9, and the United States with the F-16 Fighting Falcon, KC-46 Pegasus and KC-135 Stratotanker
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2025 18:54 |
| Story ID: | 546854 |
| Location: | GR |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Reservists play key role in multinational air exercise, by SrA Aaron Ketcham, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
