More than 150 airmen, six F-16s, and one KC-135 tanker are in Brazil through Friday participating in Exercise CRUZEX V. This marks the first time that USAF is participating in the multinational air exercise that also includes airmen from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, and Uruguay. “We are excited to be here and look forward to all that we will learn by training with other airmen,” said Col. Edward Kostelnik, director of operations for 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. Altogether, there are 82 aircraft and nearly 3,000 personnel operating out of Natal Air Force Base and Recife Air Force Base. The exercise is built around a simulated coalition air campaign. “We are training as coalition members in a peacekeeping air campaign exercise where we will practice air-to-air, refueling, and planning operations,” said Kostelnik. (Davis-Monthan report by Capt. Sarah Schwennesen)
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.
