Air Forces From 12 Nations Participated In The Training Scenario

The air forces of 12 countries of the Americas participated in an exercise aimed at using multinational air assets from SICOFAA member nations (Sistema de cooperacion de las Fuerzas Aerias de las Americas) in support of humanitarian civic assistance missions, Oct. 4 to 14 in Chile.

Air Force Cooperaction Team

The Cooperation 1 exercise scenario was premised on the effects of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile in February, triggering a tsunami, widespread blackouts and the loss of property and hundreds of lives.

"The events in Haiti and Chile this year and other disasters in years past have shown us that none of our countries are immune to natural disaster," said Col. Kris Skinner the secretary general of SICOFAA. "In the aftermath of one of these events, when lives are at stake and time is critical, the efficient use of air assets is crucial to providing timely humanitarian support and saving lives,"

During 2011, SICOFAA leaders will use lessons learned from Cooperation 1 and recent actual disaster responses to create and publish a manual outlining procedures for the use of member-nation air forces. The manual will outline the necessary procedures to stand up a multinational command and control center capable of managing air assets for humanitarian relief, Colonel Skinner said. The command-and-control concept has not yet been used in Latin America for humanitarian missions.

SICOFAA has proposed a 10-year plan for using the manual in future exercises. Colonel Skinner will present the plan to SICOFAA air force commanders at the next annual conference in Brazil. The next SICOFAA exercise, Cooperacion 2 will be held as soon as possible. The location has not been determined. The System of Cooperation Among the Americas, or SICOFAA, has an American office headquartered at Andrews Air Force Base, MD.

"This type of exercise is important for all of our nations because the next natural disaster will give us another opportunity to come together to help one another, and that is what we want to be able to do," said Lt. Gen. Glenn F. Spears, the commander of 12th Air Force.

U.S. Air Force officials contributed two C-130 Hercules from Texas Air National Guard's 136th Airlift Wing and 27 personnel from various units to both fly cargo and participate in the command-and-control aspects of coordinating aerial missions. Six of the 12 participating countries brought cargo aircraft and flew over 232 missions, transported 2,607 kilograms of cargo and 306 passengers to 14 locations. U.S. airmen flew near daily missions with approximately 100 flight hours and transported approximately 24,000 pounds of cargo between the cities of Santiago, Puerto Montt and Balmaceda -- one of Chile's southernmost cities.

"The exercise has been an absolute success," said Aviation General (two-star general) Luis Ili Delgado, director of Exercise Cooperacion 1. "We have been able to learn a great amount about each other's air forces, cultures, capabilities and procedures. We are learning about the coordinated movement of cargo and passengers for disaster response through an exercise, instead of when lives are on the line."

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