More than 240 US airmen and Thai airmen and soldiers participated in a massive personnel jump over Lop Buri, Thailand, last month, a capstone event during the multilateral Cope Tiger 2012 exercise. The opportunity was unique for the participants, as the Royal Thai Air Force and Army had never jumped together, much less in an exercise with US personnel, according to exercise planners. “We don’t get to drop actual personnel as often, especially in such large numbers,” said Capt. Michael Recker, the Cope Tiger C-17 operations project officer with the 535th Airlift Squadron at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. During Cope Tiger, Air Force C-130s and C-17s carried out both static-line and high-altitude low-opening jumps over the drop zone. Cope Tiger 2012 ran March 12-23. It brought together US, Singaporean, and Thai forces.
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.