More than 190 airmen will represent the US during SALITRE II, a Chilean air force-led coalition exercise that starts Saturday and runs through Nov. 2 in Antofagasta and Iquique, Chile. Accompanying them will be six Louisiana Air National Guard F-15Cs, two HC-130s from Moody AFB, Ga., and two Arizona Air National Guard KC-135s. Training activities will include search and rescue, aerial refueling, high-altitude airfield landings, and combined air operations center execution. Airmen and aircraft from Argentina, Brazil, and France will also participate. “We’re training together so we can respond to a crisis or integrate into United Nations peacekeeping operations as a unified team in the future,” said Col. Bryan Bearden, director of operations for 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) The USAF airmen will also take part in a series of community outreach events. (Davis-Monthan report by TSgt. Eric Petosky)
These are the complete remarks by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Reagan National Defense Forum, Dec. 3, 2022, in Simi Valley, Calif.