KC-10s aid in Alaska exercise

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Approximately 18 Airmen and two KC-10 Extenders from Travis Air Force Base will participate in exercise Northern Edge 2015, a joint training exercise hosted by Alaskan Command scheduled for June 15-26 on and above central Alaska ranges and the Gulf of Alaska.

NE15 is one in a series of U.S. Pacific Command exercises in 2015 that prepares joint forces to respond to crises in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The exercise is designed to sharpen tactical combat skills, improve command, control and communication relationships, and to develop interoperable plans and programs across the joint force.

Roughly 6,000 U.S. military personnel from units stationed in the continental United States and from U.S. installations in the Pacific will participate with approximately 200 aircraft from all services, as well as three U.S. Navy destroyers and one U.S. Navy submarine operating in the Gulf of Alaska.

According to Alaskan Command officials, NE15 is the largest military training exercise scheduled in Alaska this year with virtual and constructive participants from all over the U.S. exercising alongside live players.

"A joint training event such as NE15 provides effective, flexible and capabilities-centered joint forces ready for deployment worldwide and enables real-world proficiency in detection, identification and tracking of units at sea, in the air and on land, and response to multiple crises," command officials stated in a press release.

This is the first time since 2011 that exercise Northern Edge will be held.