Andersen AFB, Guam—Cope North is putting partnership into practice as a real demonstration of the Asia-Pacific pivot. Japan is a long-time player in Cope North. This year, the Japan Air Self Defense Force brought F-15MJs, F-2 fighters, and E-2C Hawkeye command and control aircraft. Joining Cope North for the first time is the Royal Australian Air Force. RAAF F/A-18F “Rhinos,” along with the air arm’s new Wedgetail radar surveillance airplane and RAAF C-130s, are on the ramp here. “The face-to-face time is invaluable,” said Wing Cmdr. Murray Jones, commanding officer of RAAF’s No. 1 Squadron. Air Force and RAAF units are also working hand-in-hand in a humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief scenario at an expeditionary location near Guam’s Northwest Field. The work pairs the two air arms in operations ranging from expeditionary communications, airfield opening, medical response, airdrops, and construction. Guam is “the only sovereign US soil in this part of the world,” noted Col. Randy Kaufman, commander of Andersen’s 36th Operations Group, which is hosting Cope North. That makes it “a good place for all three” nations to come together, he said.
The credibility of America’s deterrent is waning, and the way to get it back is by restructuring defense leadership and raising the defense budget almost 100 percent, according to a new paper from the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.