• Air Force combat controllers - only the toughest need apply

    Air Force combat controllers are a rare breed: an elite group of specialists who accompany U.S. ground troops - usually small teams of special operations forces - to serve as a liaison between those forces and the air support they rely on. Each combat controller is a fully qualified air traffic

  • 'Sumos' support Northern Edge with aerial refueling

    With approximately 200 aircraft taking to the Alaskan skies for Northern Edge 2009, thousands of pounds of fuel are needed to keep pilots and their jets in the air to get the vital training they need. To help keep those jets in the air, the "Sumos" or Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152

  • Northern Edge fields new radar system

    The next generation aircraft, the F-35 Lightning II, is undergoing field tests. Throughout the military, numerous exercises and units are participating to help perfect the many parts from radar to maneuverability of the next generation aircraft. The Joint Strike Fighter Program, which is heading the

  • NWTC crosses into Northern Edge 2009

    The Army's Northern Warfare Training Center, headquartered at Fort Wainwright, participated in Exercise Northern Edge 2009 here June 17 by instructing a visiting Navy SEAL team on cold-weather river crossing techniques. "The instructors from the NWTC showed us some excellent techniques that our guys

  • VX-9 ‘Vampires’ test their limits in Alaska

    Among the 9,000 servicemembers in Alaska for Northern Edge 2009 is a squadron of Sailors, Marines and civilians doing more than just testing themselves against their sister services. The "Vampires" of Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 are tasked with the duty of evaluating new equipment and

  • Northern Edge 2009 gets Buff

    The 96th Bomb Squadron from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, deployed here for exercise Northern Edge 2009 to practice mission planning and war-time procedures. The 96th BS brought three B-52H Stratofortress long-range bombers, or "Buffs," to train in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and

  • Pilot reflects on experience at Northern Edge

    In Northern Edge, Alaska's premier joint-training exercise, pilots from the Air Force, Navy and Marines are conducting fast-paced, aerial battles to challenge and test participating units on the Northern frontier. For one Navy pilot, Lt. Michael Patterson, from the Navy Strike Air Warfare Center,

  • Governor Palin visits USS Stennis

    Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin made a surprise visit to Sailors and personnel onboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) on Monday during the military joint-training exercise Northern Edge 2009. The invitation came as a surprise for the governor, who jumped at the opportunity to visit

  • Marines, Airmen fuel up Exercise Northern Edge

    Pacific Command's Exercise Northern Edge 2009 is allowing more than 200 aircraft the opportunity to train in nearly 120,000 square miles of airspace above interior Alaska and the Gulf of Alaska, June 15-26. With the numerous aircraft in the air and massive amounts of mileage to cover during the