Exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder in Alaska officially ends Saturday, but airmen from Misawa AB, Japan, plan to stay an extra week “to implement lessons learned during the exercise and to fine tune our flight tactics,” said Lt. Col. Stephen Williams, Misawa’s 13th Fighter Squadron commander, reports Stars and Stripes. About 200 fighter pilots, maintainers, and support personnel from Misawa are participating in CCT, the largest Pacific multilateral combat exercise.
Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich assumed command of U.S. European Command on July 1, taking over the key assignment as the U.S. and its allies contend with a resurgent Russia and a grinding war in Ukraine.