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Inside the 613th Air Operations Center at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, where screens flicker with flight paths across the Pacific, and every decision shapes operations thousands of miles away, Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander Ashley Hill works side by side with U.S. counterparts to ensure operational readiness across the Indo-Pacific.
Hill’s assignment as an exchange officer to the AOC at JBPHH is part of a longstanding exchange program that places Australian officers in U.S. units and American officers in Australian units. The program benefits both nations by sharing firsthand operational experience and providing allies insight into how each side plans and executes missions.
Equivalent to a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Hill serves as the deputy strategy division commander in the 613th AOC and for exercise Northern Edge 2025 he’s the lead air planner,synchronizing operations between the 613th AOC in Hawaii and the 611th AOC at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
“As lead planner, my job is to ensure flying operations meet objectives and improve coordination across combatant commands like United States Indo-Pacific command and United States Northern Command,” Hill said.
The biennial joint exercise, directed by USINDOPACOM and hosted by Pacific Air Forces, hones tactics, techniques and procedures while strengthening command and control, communications, and interoperability between U.S. forces and allied partners.
For Hill, NE25 is more than another exercise—it’s the culmination of two years working with U.S. counterparts, bridging perspectives and strengthening the ties that allow both nations to face emerging challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
With more than 35 years of service in the RAAF, Hill brings vast experience in planning and executing large-scale exercises across the Indo-Pacific. Over his career he has worn many hats, with each role shaping the way he operates inside the AOC. His background gives him a unique vantage point in NE25, where the challenge is not just moving aircraft, but aligning commands to think and act as one, Hill explained.
“The exchange program is designed to improve the interoperability of the U.S. and coalition partners,” Hill said. “I fill a U.S. billet and work as if I were a U.S. officer, which allows our systems, tactics and procedures to align when we operate together.”
Northern Edge gives Hill and his U.S. counterparts a chance to test their teamwork, rehearsing in a realistic environment, and that knowledge flows back to AOCs, strengthening the ability to support one another in future operations.
“In the event of a cyberattack or degraded operations, allied AOCs could step in to produce an air tasking order and keep the mission moving forward,” Hill explained. “By practicing these scenarios during NE25, U.S. and partner forces strengthen their ability to respond as one team.”
For Hill, it’s proof that years of collaboration pay off, not just in planning rooms, but in the skies where allied forces train and fight together.
Northern Edge 25 underscores the value of allied partnerships and combined readiness in the Indo-Pacific. By testing joint command and control in contested scenarios, the exercise demonstrates how U.S. and partner forces can integrate effectively to ensure mission success when called upon.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2025 21:50 |
| Story ID: | 546862 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Northern Edge 25 highlights allied partnerships, by A1C David S. Calcote, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
