Airmen from across the globe in specialties such as civil engineering and communications gathered at Ramstein AB, Germany, for a weeklong contingency operations training exercise. Silver Flag included five days of academic training followed by one day of practical application for everyone from an airman basic up through lieutenant colonel. These airmen learned beddown initiatives, force protection, airfield repair, services operations, and fire control—all of which are necessary to sustain a base in a contingency environment, according to Ramstein officials. “The environment the students encounter simulates a medium threat location that allows their leadership to guide every move from convoys to redeployment,” said MSgt. Lamont Hall, heavy repair training section chief with Ramstein’s 435th Construction and Training Squadron. (Ramstein report by TSgt. Jocelyn Rich)
The U.K. and the U.S. will continue to enjoy access to the ports, airfield, and workshops at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean for at least another century, under a deal inked between the U.K. and Mauritius May 22.