Bombers participate in Northern Edge
Release Date: 6/14/2004
By Capt. David Faggard
Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --Airmen flying the B-52 Stratofortress, will make their debut as participants in Exercise Northern Edge '04 this week by exercising the aircraft's ability to communicate and coordinate with forward controllers on the ground in Alaska.
The 2,600-mile mission from Hickam AFB, Hawaii, takes them over the vast Pacific Ocean to the more than 64,000 square-miles of operational bombing ranges near Fairbanks, Alaska.
The aircraft, now assigned to the 36th Air Expeditionary Wing at Andersen AFB, Guam, are forward deployed from Barksdale AFB, La.
According to Pacific Air Forces spokesperson Maj. James Law, the forces are deployed as part of a continuous bomber presence in the Pacific that helps maintain regional peace and stability while enhancing U.S. Pacific Command's force projection capability.
"Since the B-52s are in theater, it only makes sense for them to participate in exercises," said the major who is the chief of the News Division of PACAF Public Affairs. "While flying from Guam, the jets can project airpower in support of America's defense strategy at a moment's notice."
According to the major, relocating the aircraft to Guam could potentially give the Air Force the ability to respond to a crisis more quickly.
"The bombers are closer to potential flashpoints in the region while operating out of Guam," he said. "We can strike targets a lot faster than if they were operating from the continental U.S."
Northern Edge '04 will continue until June 16. More than 9,000 servicemen and women are deployed from around the world supporting more than 160 aircraft and the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier Strike Group. (Courtesy of Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau and Pacific Air Forces News Service)
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