From maintainers recovering and relaunching jets to pilots prepping and flying sorties, airmen at Kadena AB, Japan, last week trained in surge operations with their F-15s to improve their combat readiness and proficiency, according to a release. The number of training flights with the F-15s of the 67th Fighter Squadron increased each day during the drill. The pilots focused on basic fighter maneuvers. As one of the Air Force’s forward-based air superiority squadrons, the 67th FS frequently trains with Japanese fighter units at various US and Japanese airfields in the region.
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3