B-52s homeward bound after European exercises conclude

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joseph Raatz
  • 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron
MORÓN AIR BASE, Spain --  B-52 Stratofortresses from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, set a course for home Sunday after concluding their role in several European military exercises.

The B-52s and more than 250 Airmen had been temporarily relocated to Spain to facilitate their participation in the two large joint-military training exercises. Cold Response, a biennial Norwegian-led NATO exercise, and Serpentex, an annual French-led coalition exercise, both saw B-52 participation for the first time this year.

"Exercises like Cold Response and Serpentex sustain and strengthen operational and coordination capabilities between allies," said Lt. Col. Dennis Cummings, 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander. "It is through these joint-efforts that we develop a capacity for working together smoothly and efficiently."

Cold Response 16 saw approximately 16,000 troops from 12 NATO partner nations participate in air, ground and maritime operations in the Trøndelag region of Norway. This remote location gave participants a chance to train in an extreme-cold environment while jointly-developing tactics, techniques and procedures to improve their coordination and interoperability with other militaries.

The second exercise, Serpentex, took place on and over the French isle of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea and focused solely on close air support training. French fighters and U.S. B-52s provided air strike support to joint-terminal attack controllers from a dozen coalition nations during the two-week exercise, engaging hundreds of simulated ground targets.

It was great to work alongside our coalition partners and show them the power of bomber-supported close air support," said Maj. Sarah Fortin, 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron assistant director of operations. "A lot of the JTACs had never worked with bombers in that role before. It was an eye-opening experience for everyone."

Participation in these large-scale exercises provided invaluable training for the aircrews, operations personnel and hundreds of Airmen in support roles. Maintenance and logistics personnel received extra training when one B-52 encountered mechanical problems.  While the 20th EBS maintainers had the expertise and equipment available to fix the jet on-station, it was determined to be more expedient, cost effective, and provide more training to fly in a replacement aircraft, Cummings explained.

Over the course of two weeks, the B-52s flew approximately 20 sorties totaling 160 flight hours. Coordinating with thousands of NATO and coalition troops was a challenging, but rewarding, experience for all involved, said Fortin.

"These exercises demonstrate the increasing importance of our strategic partnerships," Cummings said. We are stronger together; no nation can effectively confront today's challenges alone. By training together we prepare ourselves to face future threats as a united force, bringing our collective strength to bear against any enemy, anywhere."