Air forces from Singapore, Thailand and the United States came together for the flying phase of exercise COPETIGER 98 in February 1998. It was the fourth time the three nations have participated in this multinational exercise since 1985. About600 military people from Thailand and Singapore and 500 U.S. service members took part in COPE TIGER.

COPE TIGER 98 was a two-phase exercise. The first phase was a tactical seminar and command post workshop in November 1997 in Paya Lebar, Singapore, where aircrews from the three countries took part in mission planning. The second phase in February featured flying training from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base (RTAFB), some 110 miles(185 km) northeast of Bangkok. The second phase allowed the participating air force units to sharpen their air combat skills and promote closer relations among the three air forces.

Phase one of the exercise was opened jointly on 3 November 1997 at Paya Lebar Air Base by Maj.-Gen. Goh Yong Siang, Chief of the Singapore Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Tananit Niamtan, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force, and Col. Ed Groeninger, Directorof the USAF Air Working Group.

During phase two, the Republic of Singapore Air Force participation included F-5Es and F-16A/Bs from its 140th and 144thFighter Squadrons, a basic radar control unit and an air defense platoon from Tengah AB, Singapore. Royal Thai Air Force participating units included F-5Es, F-16A/Bs and L-39 ground attack aircraft from the 103rd and 102nd Squadrons, Korat RTAFB; the 211th Squadron, Ubon RTAFB; the 711th and 401st Squadrons, Surat Thani RTAFB; and the403rd Squadron, Takhli RTAFB. U.S. forces included F-16Cs, F-15C/Ds,F/A-18Cs and E-3s from the 419th Fighter Wing, Hill AFB, Utah; Marine Fighter Attack Squadron-212 from Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, Japan; Pacific Air Forces' 18th Wing from Kadena Air Base, Japan; and the Alaska Air National Guard's 168th Refueling Wing from Eielson AFB. All three nations staffed a combined air operations center and conducted air operations from Korat RTAFB.

Col. Wayne F. Conroy, Operations Group Commander for the 419thFighter Wing, pilot and participant in COPE TIGER, said "the whole nature of a fighter unit is to deploy from your home base, cope with the situation you find there, and get the best results possible. "COPE TIGER provided that for the U.S. unit since the deployment required a three-leg ocean crossing to reach Korat, Thailand. Stops were made in Hawaii and Guam.

419th Fighter Wing Deployment Commander, Lt. Col. Al Hawley, described the challenge of flying in this multi-national exercise. "We have standard terms of reference for tactics and equipment, but we still have a language barrier. English may be the international language of aviation, but as stress heightens everyone has a tendency to revert to their own language. This is a lesson we need to relearn occasionally. For the other pilots to fly and speak only English is like us trying to fly and speak Thai," Lt. Col. Hawley said.

How was the problem addressed? Hawley said, "Good briefings and debriefings helped solve a lot of the problems." "We had to listen more," said Maj. Edward Goggins. "With Thais, Singaporeans and Americans in the same mission package it was vitally important for everyone to be on the same page." Together they had to solve the problem of blending different equipment and tactics.

Hosting and coordinating an operation like COPE TIGER is not an easy task, noted Lt. Col. Hawley. "The Thais were always looking for a way to improve things. They were as gracious a host as you could ever have. Everywhere you went people were always smiling. They were thoroughly professional . . . I would love to go back, and take my whole family with me next time," Lt. Col. Hawley said.