Numerous Airmen from across the Air Force took part in the NEWEN training exercise April 8-10 with members of the Chilean Air Force in the skies over Santiago and along the beaches of Quintero, Chile. The event came on the heels of USAF’s participation in the FIDAE 2008 airshow in Santiago. NEWEN included dissimilar air combat maneuvers between USAF F-15Es and F-16s and Chilean F-16s as well as air-to-air refueling missions of these aircraft with USAF KC-10 and KC-135 tankers. The two air forces also practiced pararescue operations in the classroom and at a small landing zone near Quintero during a simulated mass-casualty event. One of the goals of NEWEN was to better prepare the Chileans to participate in coalition operations worldwide. (Twelfth Air Force report by Capt Nathan D. Broshear)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.