Cope North kicks off at AAFB

The United States, Australia and Japan are scheduled to participate in exercise Cope North 2018 at Andersen Air Force Base from Feb. 14 to Mar. 2. Exercise Cope North is a long-standing exercise designed to enhance multilateral air operations between the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force. More than 2,000 U.S. airmen and sailors will train alongside approximately 850 combined JASDF and RAAF service members. Additionally, more than 100 aircraft, comprised of 21 flying units from the U.S., Japan and Australia, will participate in CN18. The exercise will begin with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training and consist of a number of aerial and force employment events designed to increase readiness among the allied nations. Beginning in 1978 as a quarterly bilateral exercise held at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Cope North was moved to Andersen AFB in 1999. Today, the annual exercise serves as a keystone event to promote stability and security throughout the Indo-Pacific by enabling regional forces to hone vital readiness skills critical to maintaining regional stability.