Polish air force C-130s earlier this month made the NATO ally’s first appearance in a Red Flag training event, flying alongside Australian, German, Japanese, and USAF assets from JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, announced base officials. Flying through Alaska’s mountains is “a completely new experience” for Polish mobility crews, providing excellent training for combined operations in Afghanistan, said Polish navigator Capt. Slawomir Lis in Elmendorf-Richardson’s June 14 release. Surface-to-air radar and air defense threats on the nearby Alaska Pacific Range Complex also lent crews their first practical experience using the aircraft’s self-defense suite in a combat environment, noted Polish aircraft commander Maj. Jaroslaw Gozdalski. “This was the first opportunity to check our [radar warning receiver] . . . because the ranges are equipped with emitters that simulate real threats,” he added. This Red Flag-Alaska iteration began on June 7 and runs through June 22. (Elmendorf-Richardson report by SSgt. Zachary Wolf)
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…