Some 80 airmen and three C-130Hs from the 36th Airlift Squadron at Yokota AB, Japan, deployed to Bangladesh to train with their Bangladeshi counterparts in Exercise Cope South 15, announced Pacific Air Forces on Monday. The exercise began on Jan. 24 and runs until Jan. 30 at BAF Base Bangabandhu. The Yokota airmen are working with an estimated 200 Bangladesh air force personnel and one BAF C-130 in the bilateral airlift exercise. “Cope South provides valuable training for US and Bangladeshi airmen in airland and airdrop delivery,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Campbell, 36th AS commander. “Our work here is vital in contingency and disaster-response operations. We build the personal relationships that, at a tactical level, enable us to help when disaster strikes and people are in need,” he said. Air Force and BAF crews are running cooperative flight operations, including aircraft generation and recovery and day/night low-level navigation, and conducting subject-matter-expert exchanges on issues like maintenance practices and cargo rigging. Bangladesh has sought to expand its tactical airlift capabilities, and has replaced its older C-130Bs with refurbished US C-130Es.
With no end to the government shutdown in sight, Airmen, Guardians, and defense civilians face increasing uncertainty about whether or not they will be paid—and how to make ends meet if they are not.
