A
U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet aircraft is guided to the catapult
for launch off the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) during VALIANT SHIELD 2006.
Photo by SN Stephen W. Rowe, USN
STAFF
Project Manager:
Maj. Thomas Black, USAF
Editor-in-Chief:
Andrea Davis
The Catalyst Group, LLC
www.tcgoc.com
Art
Director:
Keith Kwan
James Peters Design, Inc.
www.jpetersdesign.com
Web
Development:
Francis
Mau
James Peters Design, Inc.
Digital
Imagery:
SSgt. Ron Johnson, USAF
EDITORIAL BOARD
Chairman:
Col. Gavin Ketchen, USAF
Members:
Lt. Col. John Carothers, USA
Lt. Col. Terrance McCaffrey, USAF
Cmdr. John D. Wheeler, USN
Maj. David Doherty, USA
Lt. Cmdr. Roy D. Evans, USN
Maj. James G. McAden, USA
Maj. Patrick Schuler, USA |
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| Regional
Response Forces :: |
 VALIANT
SHIELD: Building Trust and Security
Throughout the Asia-Pacific Region.
Proficiency
in sustaining U.S. joint forces in a range of mission
areas was a focus of Exercise VALIANT SHIELD 2006
held near the U.S. territory of Guam in the Western
Pacific. Such exercises help U.S. forces transform
to meet emerging security challenges in the Asia-Pacific
region.
 GREEN LIGHTNING:
Providing Security in the Asia-Pacific Region
The U.S. Air Force completed its first B-2 Spirit bomber deployment to Australia in July 2006 during Exercise GREEN LIGHTNING. Designed to improve Australian-U.S. capabilities and operational familiarity in the region for the U.S. Pacific bomber presence, the exercise strengthens the shared commitment of both nations to peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region. As part of that commitment, U.S. bombers have been moving into the Western Pacific for more than two years as the U.S. Pacific Command adjusts its force posture to maintain a deterrent capability.
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| Transnational
Operations :: |
U.S. Rewards Program-Philippines:
Deterring Terrorism and Saving Lives
The Government of the Philippines and its security forces are working with the U.S. Pacific Command’s (USPACOM) Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG), Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTF-P), and the U.S. Embassy in Manila to identify and apprehend terrorists operating in the Philippines. A major part of that effort includes USPACOM’s Rewards Program which operates in conjunction with the U.S. Department of State (DoS) Rewards for Justice Program. These programs reward citizens who provide information and assistance that lead to the capture of terrorists. They also help mobilize the local population to secure the environment, thereby deterring terrorism by encouraging peace and prosperity.
 KHAAN
QUEST 2006:
Enhancing Multinational Peacekeeping
Exercise KHAAN QUEST 2006, a co-sponsored Mongolian-U.S. peacekeeping training exercise, was the 2006 capstone event for the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI). GPOI is a five-year program to increase peacekeeping capabilities worldwide. It has three major goals: 1) train and, as appropriate, equip 75,000 military peace support operations troops worldwide through 2010; 2) arrange a transportation and logistics support system to help troops deploy to peace support operations and help sustain them in the field; and 3) support the establishment of an international training center to train gendarme or stability police units to participate in peace support operations.
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| Humanitarian
Support :: |
 USNS
Mercy Bringing Hope to Asia-Pacific Nations
Multinational medical teams aboard the U.S Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) provided free medical care for the people of Bangladesh, East Timor, Indonesia, and the Philippines during a five-month deployment that began in May 2006. At the same time, U.S Navy Seabees, also aboard the ship, engaged in construction and engineering projects. Mercy's mission was planned and coordinated with the governments of each country.
 C-17 Aircraft Marking A New Airlift Era in the
Pacific
When the first of eight C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft landed on the flight line at Hickam Air Force Base (AFB), Hawaii, on 8 February 2006, it brought a new era of air operations for the [U.S.] Pacific Air Force and the U.S. Pacific Command. The U.S. military can use the C-17 for tactical airlift and airdrop missions to include rapid delivery of troops and cargo to main operating bases or to forward bases in a deployment area. U.S. Air Force airmen and Hawaii Air National Guard reservists flew the C-17 together, also signifying a new era of force integration.
 New
Zealand Defence Force Providing Security
and Reconstruction in Afghanistan
On a mountainous Afghan road, little better than a goat track, New Zealand Army PTE Todd Young adjusts his body armour, wipes dust from his face, and counts the hours till he leaves the boulder-strewn road and reaches his destination. For PTE Young, who has just celebrated his 21st birthday in the grime and heat of Afghanistan, patrolling is everything. We get out, just 11 of us, and we're gone for three weeks. The locals in our area know us now, and we're getting to know them quite well. It's our area and we know what's going on. I look forward to getting out there, sitting with the boss while he talks to the local governors, and hearing what's going on.
From
BALIKATAN to Mudslide Relief
 BALIKATAN means “shouldering the load together” in the Philippine language, and that is exactly what Philippine and U.S. forces did following a massive mudslide on 17 February 2006 on Leyte Island. The mudslide engulfed a village, including an elementary school in session. About 2,800 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and 5,500 U.S. troops were to participate in Exercise BALIKATAN from 20 February to 5 March 2006. However, 1,500 U.S. troops diverted to Leyte to assist AFP forces in the search for survivors.
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| Happenings :: |
 Happenings…
Indian Air Force Wing Cmdr.
Sanjeev Gupta looks over a navigation map while
flying over the Big Island of Hawaii in an Indian
IL-76 cargo aircraft during a training mission.
U.S. airmen were also onboard during the September
2006 training event with the Indian aircrew.
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The
Secretary of Defense has determined that the
publication of this periodical is necessary in
the transaction of public business required by
law of the Department of Defense. |
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