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OTOPENI AIR BASE, Romania — U.S. Airmen assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, kicked off exercise Carpathian Summer 2018 on Otopeni Air Base, Romania.
The purpose of the bilateral training exercise is to enhance interoperability and readiness of forces by conducting combined air operations with the Romanian air force.
“We’re here working with our allies, the Romanian air force and the Romanian army,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Andy Forsyth, 37th AS pilot and Carpathian Summer 2018 mission commander. “The purpose of Carpathian Summer is to build on the partnership that we’ve had going for five years now and to keep that partnership going.”
The 37th AS aircrew plan to perform various training exercises during the event including mass container delivery system airdrops, personnel airdrops, and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape scenarios. An added benefit of the exercise is the ability to utilize the Romanian airspace to perform low-level flying.
“The low-level flying we can conduct in the country is great training for us,” said Forsyth. “It’s training we don’t get to do at home station.”
Each year, the team changes the scenarios up to keep the training fresh.
“If you do the same training over and over again, you’re not really proficient, you’re just doing things that you’ve memorized,” he said. “By changing what we do every time we come out, we get better.”
According to Forsyth, Carpathian Summer has brought allied forces together in the past and continues to strengthen relationships today.
“I would like to thank the Romanian air force for hosting us here at Otopeni,” added Forsyth. “It’s been great working together in the preparation and planning of this exercise so far and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish in the coming weeks.”
