Air Force C-130s, C-17s, and aircrews are taking part in a NATO training exercise made up of 5,000 participants and 18 nations this month in Germany. Exercise Saber Junction 16 at Hohenfels Training Area, which will run through April 24, is focused on land operations in a joint, combined environment, according to a 31st Fighter Wing release. “This is what we train for, to see everything come into place on a scale this big,” Capt. Steven Marinos, aircraft commander with the 908th Airlift Wing, said in the release. Aircraft dropped paratroopers and large equipment across multiple landing zones throughout the four-week exercise.
The Air Force displayed all the firepower it has amassed on Okinawa in an unusually diverse show of force this week. IIn a May 6 “Elephant Walk,” Kadena Air Base showcased 24 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, eight F-15E Strike Eagles; two U.S. Army Patriot anti-missile batteries near the runway; and…