About 230 airmen and 10 A-10Cs from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, recently returned from Campia Turzii, Romania, where they participated in a joint, three-week exercise focused on strengthening the partnership between the two NATO countries, announced wing officials Wednesday. During Dacian Thunder, airmen from the operations and mission support groups, maintenance and logistics readiness squadrons, and A-10 crews from the 81st Fighter Squadron conducted close air support, combat search and rescue, and air-to-air refueling training. “We flew 210 sorties in the three weeks we were [in Romania], which was only possible because of the maintainers, logisticians, and mission support airmen who came with us,” said Capt. James Fuhrer, 81st FS chief of standardization and evaluation. The Spang A-10 pilots also worked with Romanian MiG-21s and IAR 330 helicopters during the exercise. (Spang report by 2nd Lt. Stephani Hunter)
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