Falcon Leap 2020: 37 AS participates in international exercise

Members of the 37th AS participated in Exercise Falcon Leap 2020, an annual parachute exercise held at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands. Members of the 37th AS participated in the exercise with military members from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Exercises like Falcon Leap 2020 allow better interoperability among other U.S. branches and international mission partners.

A C-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron sits on the flight line at Ramstein Air Base, Sept. 18. Members of the 37th AS participated in Exercise Falcon Leap 2020, an annual parachute exercise held at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Bruno Ruiz Camacho, 37th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, pulls static lines after a personnel drop over the Netherlands, Sept. 18. Exercises like Falcon Leap 2020 allow better interoperability among other U.S. branches and international mission partners.

The official patch for Exercise Falcon Leap 2020 is shown on the shoulder of U.S. Air Force Maj. Erik Svendsen, 37th Airlift Squadron instructor pilot, at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, Sept. 18. Members of the 37th AS participated in the exercise with military members from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Pilots from the 37th Airlift Squadron prepare to land at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, Sept. 18. The 37th AS provided airlift capabilities to European military airborne troops during Exercise Falcon Leap 2020.

U.S. Army jumpmasters support Belgian, Dutch and German airborne military members while they perform a static line airdrop over the Netherlands, Sept. 18. The airborne members jumped from 1,000-1,300 feet high, into the same drop zones as those involved in Operation Market Garden, 76 years ago.

Belgian, Dutch and German airborne military members board a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron, at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, Sept. 18. Exercise Falcon Leap 2020 takes inspiration from Operation Market Garden, an Allied World War II airborne mission. Operation Market Garden’s intent was to capture three major bridges to reach Germany’s industrial heartland.