Pacific Air Forces units are participating in Cope Tiger ’06 in Thailand, along with military forces from Thailand and Singapore. The exercise started Feb. 6 and runs through Feb. 18. Some 1,300 personnel—about 300 from PACAF units—are working in “a very challenging scenario,” according to exercise director USAF Col. Jeffery LeVault. Cope Tiger enables USAF airmen to practice tactical-level skills and build relationships with partner nations, he said. PACAF forces include A-10s from Osan AB, South Korea and an E-3 AWACS from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, as well as KC-135 tankers and C-130 airlifters from various units.
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent 40 years in the military…