Pacific Air Forces units are participating in Cope Tiger ’06 in Thailand, along with military forces from Thailand and Singapore. The exercise started Feb. 6 and runs through Feb. 18. Some 1,300 personnel—about 300 from PACAF units—are working in “a very challenging scenario,” according to exercise director USAF Col. Jeffery LeVault. Cope Tiger enables USAF airmen to practice tactical-level skills and build relationships with partner nations, he said. PACAF forces include A-10s from Osan AB, South Korea and an E-3 AWACS from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, as well as KC-135 tankers and C-130 airlifters from various units.
Promotions to the Space Force’s second highest enlisted grade, senior master sergeant, have surged to the highest level in the young service’s history, bolstering the senior NCO corps as officials plan to aggressively expand the force and especially the enlisted corps.