Air Force joint terminal attack controllers worked with more than 500 Army soldiers to find and destroy targets during Red Flag-Alaska 16-2. The JTACs called in air support from A-10s, F16s, and F/A-18s flying overhead during live-fire scenarios between June 8-10 at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, according to a 354th Fighter Wing release. SSgt. Jacob Rinker, a JTAC with the 13th Air Special Operations Squadron at Fort Carson, Colo., said the training, involving air-to-air and air-to-ground integration, “ties into exactly how we would operate against [ISIS],” according to the release. He said lessons learned would be passed on to deploying forces. About 100 aircraft took part in Red Flag-Alaska 16-1 at JB Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base in May.
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…