November 1, 2008

B-52 air crews from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., who recently deployed to Guam, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, were among the participants last month in an exercise over the Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the Minot Daily News reported Thursday.

The 10-day joint exercise, called Red Flag-Alaska, also included B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and F-16s out of Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

The drill was designed to test the air crews’ ability to defend against air threats.

The B-52s flew bombing missions from Guam and Louisiana to the Pacific Alaska Range Complex, where they practiced dropping payloads, according to the newspaper.

Along the way, they completed air refueling with KC-135s and fought off attacks from "red-force" F-16s.

About 300 airmen from Minot’s 5th Bomb Wing are deployed to Guam as part of a four-month rotation.

The Minot air crews on the island are flying missions and taking part in drills throughout the Pacific region, from Alaska to Australia, Col. Parker Northrup III, the 5th Operations Group commander, told the Minot Daily News.

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