Photo By Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell | Colombian Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Luis Córdoba, signs the guest book during a...... read more read more
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DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. – The Colombian Air Force integrated with U.S. joint-forces, allies and partners for the DoD’s premier combat search and rescue exercise, Red Flag-Rescue, at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., Mar. 5-19, 2023.
Red Flag-Rescue takes realistic CSAR scenarios and injects them into a contested, degraded and operationally limited environment, while mutually facilitating opportunities to build regional capacity with partner nations.
“The training objectives that we set out to do here were integrating our joint-force and our multinational partners to conduct personnel recovery in a contested environment.” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Budis, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander explained during a closing ceremony for the exercise. “We challenged you with all of that in a hard environment, all to make sure that you’re getting everything you need to build your expertise at the end of the day. Because in the future fight, we’re all going to be in this together.”
This iteration marked the third consecutive year of participation by the Colombian Air Force in Red Flag-Rescue. More than 230 sorties were flown over a two-week period, helping to serve as a cornerstone to the collective readiness and interoperability of the joint-force coalition.
“It’s a great privilege to partner with the Colombian Air Force,” said Maj. Gen. Pettus, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) commander. “The Colombian Air Force consists of world-class professionals and they are very good at this mission.”
Colombian air assets supporting Red Flag-Rescue included, one AH-60L Arpía helicopter and six A-29B Super Tucano turboprop aircraft, each brandished with the time-honored rescue slogan, “that others may live.”
“The experience, doctrine, preparation and hard work that have always characterized the Colombian Air Force made this deployment a new glory for our tradition.” Said Gen. Luis Córdoba, Colombian Air Force Chief of Staff. “Certainly, the alliance we have is building a bright future for the U.S. - Colombia, and our hemisphere’s security.”
Building strong connections with partner nations plays a strong role in the security and prosperity of the Western Hemisphere. Exercises like Red Flag-Rescue enables forces to seamlessly integrate when called upon, helping to ensure rapid deployment of lifesaving aid when seconds matter.
“That’s really what it’s all about, it’s about helping people in the most dire of needs,” said Pettus. “And together working on these types of things, we get to get after our shared priorities, our shared values, looking for stability, prosperity and peace here in the Western Hemisphere, and it’s a great privilege to partner with the Colombian Air Force.”
In addition to Colombia, this year’s exercise welcomed participants from Italy, Germany, and Ireland, as well as observers from Norway, Finland, and Saudi Arabia.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2023 18:29 |
| Story ID: | 447451 |
| Location: | TUCSON, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 263 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Red Flag-Rescue: "A New Glory" for Colombian Air Force tradition, by TSgt Rachel Maxwell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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