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U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY – U.S. Air Forces Central displayed mastery at projecting lethal combat air power through dispersed location operations during exercise Agile Spartan 25.2 from August 25-28, 2025.
Agile Spartan is a multinational agile combat employment (ACE) exercise designed to work alongside partner nations, rapidly projecting air power and sustaining operations across locations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
The exercise is unique in its blend of rehearsing dispersal movements from Air Expeditionary Wings in theater while continuing execution of air tasking orders (ATO) in support of active operations. This means that key ACE concepts are refined without obstructing vital ongoing operations that are setting conditions for long-term regional security and stability.
Agile Spartan also relies on strategic partnerships with coalition allies and regional partners to enable seamless decentralized execution of air power. Key to this was the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing’s (AEW) presence as an Expeditionary Wing Operations Center in the Arabian Peninsula, controlling the F-15E Strike Eagle, A-10 Thunderbolt II and HC-130 Hercules ATO lines and exercise participation.
Maj. Zachary Zimmerman, Director of Plans and Integration for the 332 AEW, noted the vital relationship between the U.S. and regional partners as central to the ACE concept within AFCENT.
“We leveraged the expertise and strength of our Arabian Gulf partners to quickly move and stage assets around theater, which allowed us to sustain our operations,” Zimmerman said. “We have a unique bond with our coalition partners, and we trust and rely on them to understand challenges unique to their home countries. They are the experts, and exercises like Agile Spartan allow us to learn from them to diversify our decision-making.”
The exercise also expanded these vital relationships through subject matter expert exchanges where Airmen learned from regional partners to apply ingenuity to complex problems such as logistics requirements from country to country, maintenance-led contingency Integrated Combat Turns (refueling and rearming aircraft between flights) and understanding adversarial manipulation of the information space.
Throughout the exercise, Airmen demonstrated their readiness and ability to conduct high-tempo, combat-capable operations across multiple locations. Logistics flow makes the ACE concept possible as precision movement of personnel and equipment across the theater are vital to successful dispersal.
According to U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. John Robinson, 332d Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron logistics planner, logistics support to ACE requires a shift in mindset for specific movements against rigid timelines.
“Getting the timing just right and working with our partners—it’s amazing to see the full effect of our work and the ACE concept play out,” Robinson said.
In today’s dynamic security environment, ACE exercises strengthen regional relationships not only for enhancing interoperability, but for reinforcing a shared commitment to regional stability and mutual defense. Agile Spartan 25.2 reflects the power of unity, cooperation and trust in advancing the coalition’s collective mission.
Serving as U.S. Air Forces Central premier ACE exercise, Agile Spartan 25.2 brought together multiple AEWs to exercise in austere environments, honing their ability to generate and sustain combat airpower while remaining operationally unpredictable.
With nearly 10,000 deployed personnel at any given time, U.S. Air Forces Central provides a unique insight for Airmen faced with the challenge of the changing character of warfare.
Imagery of operations and activities within the U.S. Air Forces Central theater of operations is publicly available through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/AFCENT.
For more information on U.S. Air Forces Central, please contact Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) Public Affairs at afcent.publicaffairs@us.af.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 08:24 |
| Story ID: | 548370 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 24 |
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This work, AGILE SPARTAN 25.2 Demonstrates U.S. Air Force Agility and Regional Partnership, by Capt. Kaitlyn Danner and SSgt Madeleine Jinks, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
