Airmen from Japan and the Netherlands touched down in their C-130s last week at Rosecrans ANGB, Mo., to learn the latest in tactical airlift from members of the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Airlift Wing. Over the two-week Combat Aircrew Tactics Studies Course taught at the wing’s Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, the Dutch and Japanese crews will learn both live tactics and classroom theory alongside Active Duty, Air Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command crews from across the US Air Force, states Rosecrans’ Dec. 7 release. “I have come to improve the abilities of the Japan Air Self Defense Force and to learn the latest tactics of the United States Air Force,” said JASDF Maj. Takehide Hayase, a Hercules pilot from Komaki AB, Japan. With Rosecrans’ experienced cadre, the base is the “perfect environment for this type of tactical training,” added Hayase. Allied countries pay to fill roughly 30 percent of course’s slots through an Air Force outreach initiative, according to the release. Some 15 Dutch and 25 Japanese airmen are participating in the course this time around. (Rosecrans report by MSgt. Mike Smith)
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
