Norway soars into first RF-Alaska

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Gross
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  History was made during the most recent Red Flag-Alaska. The Royal Norwegian Air Force made its debut with 23 airmen and one C-130 Hercules from the 135th Air Wing of Gardermoen Air Station, Norway.

Four times a year JBER and Eielson Air Force Base host RF-Alaska, a Pacific Air
Forces-directed field training exercise for U.S. and coalition forces flown under simulated air combat conditions. The latest 10-day exercise kicked off Oct.6 and will continue through till Oct. 21.

Norway's Lt. Col. Truls Orpen, 135th Wing, stressed the significance of his squadron's
participation in RF-Alaska.

"Red Flag-Alaska is very important to us due to the fact that it's one of those few chances we have to take part in a large exercise where we have all the aspects of air power and threat environments," Orpen said.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kevin Dolata, 353rd Combat Training Squadron, Detachment 1
director of operations, said he was happy to have the RNAF participate and it's always a great experience when a new country is able to participate in RF-Alaska for their first time.

"It's absolutely exciting, it's a great opportunity to build on and improve the bond with our coalition partners," Dolata said.

Dolata said the whole idea behind RF-Alaska is so other U.S. units along with international partners can all come together under one umbrella and see how one another operates and executes their missions. He also mentioned it's very important to know how one another operate because somewhere down the road we may need to assist one another, he added.

In Norway, most of the squadron's training is tactical, including air drops and assault landings. In Alaska, Norway's air force is able to enhance training on a much larger scale including man-portable air-defense systems, missiles, ground radar and other various ground electronic devices.

Along with training against ground threats, the Norwegians fly together with an abundant amount of aircraft and airspace. RF-Alaska gives those who participate more than 67,000-square miles to conduct training scenarios.

"Flying together with more aircraft here, we're more a part of the air war," Opren said. "This is something we don't get in Norway; at home we train on our own."

Another advantage of training with so many aircraft and air crew is seeing some of the different techniques. Opren said they're able to see what works and what doesn't for their air force and piece everything together making themselves the best that they can be.

"It's important for the entire fleet being here," Opren said. "That's the only way to get the experience, is to make sure you see the tactics work and what doesn't work."

This is also something that Opren wants his airmen to take away from this exercise. He wants them to see the proficiency that can come about when everything they've worked on at home and things they've picked up here are put together in a training scenario and results in success.

Norway's Capt. Andre Pedersen, who participated in his first big exercise at RF-Alaska, was right on track with the lieutenant colonel. He said even the small things, like ensuring the maintenance is on cue, is an important part of the big picture of having a successful mission.

According to Opren, the planning stages are just as important as the execution portion of the training. He said there's a lot to take into consideration and a lot of coordination when planning scenarios such as air traffic, with so many aircraft in the air at one time it's important to know how to adapt and overcome.

RNAF flight commanders also get a big plus by participating in RF-Alaska, with this training they're able to check off their "combat ready" status. They do lots of preparation up to this point but by flying in this exercise they can be officially combat ready.

Opren said he hopes that everyone from his crew walks away with lessons learned and hopes to continue future participation in RF-Alaska.