USAF Cope Thunder Exercise / Alaska Patch

USAF Cope Thunder Exercise / Alaska Patch

Circa 1996/99'.

Exercise Cope Thunder was a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored exercise initiated at Clark Air Base, The Philippines, in 1976. Conceived by Brigadier General Richard G. Head, the exercise was devised as a way to give aircrews from across Asia their first taste of warfare in a realistic training environment. The exercise quickly grew into PACAF’s "premier simulated combat airpower employment exercise."

Prior to Operation Desert Storm, less than one-fifth of the U.S. Air Force’s primary fighter pilots had seen combat. While the percentage of combat-experienced pilots has increased in recent years, with the end of the Vietnam War a high percentage of pilots had not experienced combat. Analysis indicates most combat losses occurred during an aircrew’s first eight to 10 missions. Therefore, the goal of COPE THUNDER, and later RED FLAG-Alaska, was to provide each aircrew with these first vital missions, increasing their chances of survival in combat environments.

Each COPE THUNDER exercise was a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and correspond to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises involved several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. COPE THUNDER planners took those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants received the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.

It was not uncommon during COPE THUNDER exercises to see Philippine Air Force F-5s, Royal Australian Air Force F-18 Hornets, U.S. Navy A-4s, Royal New Zealand Air Force A-4s, Republic of Singapore Air Force Hawker Hunters, stacked up on taxiways awaiting their turn to launch along with USAF F-15 Eagles, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from bases in Pacific Air Forces, and Alaskan Air Command.

COPE THUNDER was moved to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, from Clark Air Base, Philippines, in 1992 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991, that forced the closure of Clark Air Base in 1992. The exercise started then in Alaska where continues today redesignated as RED FLAG Alaska.

When the decision was made to relocate COPE THUNDER, Air Force officials viewed Eielson as the most logical choice. That decision was based on the close proximity of large areas of military training airspace and the fact that Eielson's 5055th Range Squadron to become the 353d Combat Training Squadron in 1993, already maintained and operated three major military air-to-ground training ranges nearby.

Many different rescue teams participated since every year in the exercise, including the 33rd Rescue Squadron (HH-60G) and 31st Rescue Squadron (Pararescue), and the 353rd Special Operations Group’s 320th STS (Combat Control and Pararescue) among others.

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