Red Flag Rescue training for special forces
US special forces worked alongside US Air Force and US Navy personnel to carry out a number of missions, ranging from rapid infiltration and exfiltration, to air insertion and rescue at Red Flag Rescue 2019.
Red Flag Rescue is an air combat training exercise involving multiple air platforms from all branches of the US services as well as foreign militaries. Lasting three weeks, it replaced the Angel Thunder exercise in 2018, and is designed to provide US personnel with realistic combat rescue training in a degraded and operationally limited environment.
‘Red Flag gives us the opportunity to work with joint and interagency partners to address all of our mission essential tasks. Each part of the exercise builds on each other and gives us a chance to test our training with our partners,’ said Lt Col Patrick Toohey, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. ‘This is part of our combat pipeline. It gives us the chance to be fully focused on our mission.’
Master Sgt Bernardo agreed: 'Red Flag is a great reminder of why we train as hard as we do. During this exercise, we get a great opportunity to work with multiple aircrews who may not be used to working with special forces. We are establishing procedures for working together and the benefit of training as hard and as often as we do shows.’
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