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Photo by Staff Sgt. Armando A. Schwier-Morales
Members of multiple nations gather for opening ceremonies to kick off Saber Strike 15 June 8 at Adazi Training Area, Latvia. More than 6,000 service members are participating in Saber Strike 15, an annual multinational exercise.
ADAZI TRAINING AREA, Latvia — About 6,000 personnel from 13 countries, including the United States, are participating in the Saber Strike 15 exercise that began June 8 and will continue through June 19 in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Saber Strike is a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise conducted annually since 2010. The aim of the exercise is to improve the cooperation and capabilities of the participating nations for future contingency operations. This year’s exercise objectives facilitate cooperation among Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The U.S. Air Force plays a critical role by providing aerial refueling, aerial port support capabilities, joint tactical air control, personnel and equipment airlift, and close air support to U.S. and partner nation ground forces while demonstrating air deployment of forces and equipment.
“Saber Strike is a great opportunity to showcase and foster our interoperability between ally and partner nations,” said Gen. Frank Gorenc, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander. “Combined training and theater security cooperation engagements with our allies and partners demonstrate that we share a commitment to promoting a Europe that is whole, free and at peace.”
U.S. Air Force capabilities in the exercise include KC-135 Stratotankers from the Michigan Air National Guard; the Pennsylvania Air National Guard and the U.S. Air Force Reserves out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.; F-16 Fighting Falcons from the South Carolina Air National Guard; A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the Maryland Air National Guard; B-52 Stratofortresses from Minot Air Force Base, N.D.; and C-130J Super Hercules from Ramstein. Additional support is provided by the 435th Contingency Response Group and the 435th Air Ground Operations Wing from Ramstein.
“Maintaining a forward, ready presence in Europe is critical to assuring our allies and to deterring real and potential adversaries,” Gorenc said. “We are only able to maintain this global presence through total force cooperation with our National Guard and Air Force Reserve partners.”
