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"Exercises like NORTHERN EDGE ... prepare America’s military service members to operate in a joint environment as well as coordinate operations with other federal, state, and local agencies."
Air Force Lt. Gen. Howie Chandler, Commander, Alaskan Command
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An Alaska National Guard Civil Support Team assists the Bartlett, an Alaska Marine Highway System ferry boat, in analyzing a simulated suspicious brief case found on the ship during NORTHERN EDGE 2003.
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About 1,600 U.S. airmen, soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen participated in Exercise NORTHERN EDGE in March 2003 at U.S. military installations and ranges throughout Alaska and in the port of Valdez, Alaska. The annual Alaskan Command-hosted joint exercise was scaled down this year due to the war in Iraq.
Four Canadians from Headquarters, Maritime Forces Pacific, Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, participated as observers in the maritime portion of NORTHERN EDGE 2003. Although there were fewer Canadians this year due to competing real-world missions, they maintained effective liaison with the U.S. Navy.
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NORTHERN EDGE 2003 focused on perfecting Alaska’s homeland defense capability and readiness to defend regional land, sea, and airspace. It included force protection, joint live-fire exercises, combat search and rescue, harbor defense, and maritime operations. In his welcoming speech to NORTHERN EDGE participants, Air Force Lt. Gen. Howie Chandler, Commander, Alaskan Command, said, “Exercises like NORTHERN EDGE are designed to prepare America’s military service members to operate in a joint environment as well as coordinate operations with other federal, state and local agencies. NORTHERN EDGE 2003 provides a great venue for various agencies to test procedures, connectivity, and interoperability and to hone their response skills.”
Strengthening U.S. joint warfighting efforts to protect the U.S. homeland also prepares U.S. forces in the Global War on Terrorism. As Commander, U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Thomas B. Fargo said in a speech earlier this year, “[U.S. military] efforts [to protect the homeland] have progressed in parallel with U.S. military operations overseas, in concert with our allies and friends, to seek out and defeat terrorism wherever we find it.”
Non-military U.S. participants included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Aviation Administration, local police forces, and other civilian organizations needed for homeland defense.
The area around Valdez served as the backdrop for the maritime activities, ground defense maneuvers, and aerial operations that centered on protecting the dock-landing ship USS Mount Vernon (LSD 39) and the Valdez Marine Terminal.
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A rappelling instructor watches as a student rappels to a lower level on a tower during NORTHERN EDGE 2003.
Photo by PH2 Gregory D. Devereaux, USN |
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An avalanche specialist (left) with the Alaska Safety Mountain Center displays an avalanche on a terrain board during an avalanche safety seminar for exercise participants. The seminar focused on avalanche characteristics, terrain analysis, safe travel, and rescue response.
Photo by Spec. James -Denton Wyllie, USA
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All exercise scenarios were coordinated with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Alaskan Region of the North American Aerospace Defense Command. These agencies monitored and maintained air sovereignty over Alaska during all phases of the exercise, including the following events.
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Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM staff from NORTHERN EDGE 2003 Public Affairs news releases by 2nd Lt. Teresa Snowden, USAF; Spec. Douglas DeMaio, USA; Spec. James-Denton Wyllie, USA; PFC. Kristin Akers, USA; and Sgt. Bradley Rhen, USA |
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