A Royal Thai Air Force engine mechanic, Sgt. Chan Chai Khunangdec, flushes an L-39 engine during COPE TIGER 2002.

2nd Lt. Nattawut Pookprayoon, a Thai 103rd squadron fighter pilot, prepares a Japan-based USAF pilot, Capt. Russell Brown, for a flight in a Royal Thai Air Force F-16.

Training scenarios to improve unit proficiency involved mission commander academic training, dissimilar basic fighter maneuver sorties, dissimilar air combat training sorties, interdiction air-to-ground sorties, and large force deployment sorties. Exercise scenarios also included tactical airdrop and low-level navigation sorties, combat search and rescue sorties, air-to-air in-flight refueling sorties, air traffic controller training, ground control intercept controller training, and air defense artillery training.

Detailed planning conferences held months before the first sorties ensured participants met COPE TIGER 2002 goals and objectives. During meetings in Alaska, Singapore and Thailand, key players set the tone and expectations for a successful exercise. The first week of the January phase of COPE TIGER 2002 involved familiarization sorties and resolving final planning issues, such as logistics and airlift. During this week, U.S. Army and Air Force representatives from the U.S. Air Ground Operations School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, conducted classes. Real-world applications of combat air support, Army and Air Force doctrine and the air liaison officer’s role were prominent discussions. Heavily attended by Thai and Singapore pilots, the classes often included questions about current procedures and operations over the skies of Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.