Tanker aircrews support exercise in Chile

An F-15 Eagle with the 159th Fighter Wing approaches the boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker during a refueling mission Oct. 22 over Chile. The Chilean air force hosted military members from the United States, Brazil, Argentina and France during Exercise Salitre II, a multinational exercise focused on interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky)

by Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky, 12th Air Force Public Affairs

IQUIQUE, Chile (AFNS) -- Airmen aboard two Arizona Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotankers are flying daily refueling sorties above Chile to support a multinational force of fighters during Exercise Salitre II.

The Airmen from the 161st Air Refueling Wing in Phoenix are participating in the Chilean-led exercise that runs through Oct. 31 involving the United States, Brazil, Argentina and France.

The exercise focuses on improving interoperability between partner nations in a command-and-control as well as operational environment.

This is just one visit of many in recent years to Chile for the 161st ARW, said Capt. Blake Waldo, a KC-135 pilot and head of mission planning. The tankers refueled Chilean air force F-16s during, participated in numerous exercises, and even made an appearance at the FIDAE airshow.

"The hospitality in Chile is unbelievable," Captain Waldo said. "You can definitely see the partnership. We teach them and vice versa. I love it. It's a 'pinch-me' job. Exercises like Salitre can take the monotony out of the day-to-day job. It's a fortunate position to be in, to go from initial planning to final, and see it come together. It's a pretty neat deal."

The wing deployed 19 Airmen for the two-week exercise, including maintainers, specialists, boom operators and pilots. Most of the Airmen have deployed here before, and Maj. Quinn Casey said he thinks that familiarity is crucial to smooth operations.

"Over time, you create a standard, and everyone is on the same page, no matter if you are in the U.S. or in Chile," he said. "The standards both of our countries have built over time help immeasurably to keep the exercise running and also help the pilots practice. It just proves that what you've developed is working."

During the initial phases of Exercise Salitre, pilots from all nations involved will familiarize themselves with the airspace and procedures for flying within them. To do so requires fuel, and the KC-135 delivered. It can hold more than 200,000 pounds of jet fuel, which means that fighters can stay aloft for much longer.

The refueling flights also provide a way for the Chilean air force to hone their pilots' mid-air refueling skills. Currently, the Chilean air force does not have a tanker in the inventory. Maj. Alfredo Rios, a Chilean air force F-16 pilot who met Captain Waldo eight months ago, said the tanker flights are critical.

"It is perfect for us," Major Rios said. "It's a good way to maintain training for our pilots. We try to get as many flights as possible each time the tankers arrive. If the tankers didn't come here, we couldn't maintain proficiency in mid-air refueling."

Exercise Salitre builds cooperative capability for responding to humanitarian crises and promoting regional security through a partnership of nations. There are nearly 200 U.S. Airmen and 10 U.S. aircraft participating, including an HC-130 from the 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., two Air National Guard KC-135s from the 161st Air Refueling Wing, Ariz., and six F-15 Eagles and one C-130 Hercules from the Louisiana Air Guard's 159th Fighter Wing in New Orleans.

AFSOUTH Airmen participate in Exercise SALITRE II

by Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) Public Affairs

DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) -- More than 190 Air Forces Southern Airmen are representing the United States during Exercise SALITRE II, a Chilean air force-led coalition exercise which began Oct. 17 and ends Nov. 2, in Antofagasta and Iquique, Chile.

SALITRE is a coalition air exercise, including search and rescue, aerial refueling and combined air operations center training opportunities focused on interoperability, according to Col. Bryan Bearden, the 12th AF (AFSOUTH) director of operations and exercise director for U.S. Air Force participation in SALITRE. In addition to Chile and the United States, France, Argentina, and Brazil will also participate.

"SALITRE is an opportunity for Airmen to practice working with their counterparts from across Latin America," Colonel Bearden said. "We're training together so we can respond to a crisis or integrate into United Nations peacekeeping operations as a unified team in the future."

During the exercise, aircraft from all participating nations will simulate a wide variety of operations in a realistic peacekeeping, non-combatant evacuation and humanitarian response scenario. In addition, participants will exercise command and control of a simulated air campaign involving fictional scenarios within a combined air operations center.

Scenarios within SALITRE will have broad application across many spectrums of conflict or civil support, including support of UN-type responses worldwide, Colonel Bearden said.

For example, during one scenario, rescue personnel will secure an airfield and tend to patients as part of a unified team. This type of response is vital to ensure countries are able to respond to situations with their own military and law enforcement resources. Simulated peacekeeping operations will prepare participants to support UN-type coalition operations, such as global peacekeeping and stability missions, enforcing no-fly zones or patrolling for pirates. Non-combatant evacuation operations simulated during SALITRE II will prepare nations to support civilian authorities after earthquakes, floods or hurricanes.

Other training opportunities planned for SALITRE include high-altitude airfield landings, a key skill for cargo pilots in Latin America and for U.S. aircrews supporting operations across the region.

"While the training uses fictional scenarios, the skills participants will practice during SALITRE are meant to prepare them to not only work together as part of a larger coalition, but also to support local law enforcement, first responders and civil defense forces," Colonel Bearden said.

"Each of the participating air forces -- French, Argentine, Brazilian and Chilean -- brings a unique skill set and aircraft to the mission, and each of the participants are equally valuable to the success of the exercise," Colonel Bearden said. "These different skill sets help to make SALITRE the robust training environment participants expect in today's modern Air Force exercises."

The majority of the U.S. presence is located at the Cerro Moreno Air Base in Antofagasta, Chile. Another group of Airmen is working out of the Diego Aracena AB in Iquique, Chile.

The U.S. Air Force will be represented by:

-- 2 HC-130 Hercules aircraft from the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga.

-- 2 KC-135 Stratotankers from the 197th Aerial Refueling Squadron from the Arizona Air National Guard in Phoenix.

-- 6 F-15C Eagles from the 122nd Fighter Squadron from the Louisiana Air National Guard in New Orleans.

Not only will airmen work together in the sky above the Atacama Desert (the wilderness in the northern portion of Chile), they're also planning a series of community outreach events. Airmen from each partner nation air force will team up to showcase aircraft to local leaders, meet with area children and provide interactive learning opportunities during after-school activities.