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624th RSG commander leads Total Force delegation at Cope Tiger conference

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Daniel Nathaniel
  • 624th RSG Public Affairs
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii --  Col. Robert "Randy" Huston, 624th Regional Support Group commander, led a U.S. Total Force delegation at the Cope Tiger 10 Middle Planning Conference Sept. 21-25 at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

U.S. Air Force Active duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve planners put the final touches on the flight schedule and the large force employment plan for the upcoming exercise in Thailand March 2010.

At the close of the conference, Colonel Huston, along with the directors from Thailand and Singapore, signed the conference minutes and thanked all the participants for their hard work and dedication.

Next up will be the Final Coordination Conference and Exercise Opening Ceremony, which will take place December in Singapore.

"Cope Tiger helps improve combined readiness and interoperability while cultivating common bonds and goodwill between the United States and allied partner nations' forces," said Colonel Huston. "As the wing commander for Cope Tiger '09, I saw firsthand the incredible effectiveness and utility of this exercise. In my opinion, it is the best exercise we have in the Pacific, in terms of training and reinforcing USPACOM Theater Security Cooperation goals."

The multi-lateral, Joint/combined, "Red Flag" type of exercise will include approximately 80 aircraft, 35 air defense units, and 1034 sorties composed of Air Force and Army members from Thailand, Singapore and the United States.

In addition to the flying portion of the exercise, Cope Tiger also includes a two-phase humanitarian and civic assistance portion. In the first phase, exercise participants will donate school supplies, sports equipment and other supplies to local schools.

During the second phase joint teams of medical, optometry and dental personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Royal Thai Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force will provide care to more than 2,000 Thai citizens.