Angel Thunder 2011 officially underway Published Oct. 14, 2011 By Airman 1st Class Saphfire Cook 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The fifth-annual Angel Thunder Personnel Recovery and Rescue exercise kicked off here Oct. 9. Angel Thunder is a two-week exercise where military rescue personnel from around the world conduct hands-on emergency response training to increase proficiency in dealing with catastrophic events. "The exercise is designed to provide a safe, realistic and educational event for all players and to concentrate on 'Lessons Learned' which will be used to correct problems now in order to save lives in future real-world operations," said Mr. Brett Hartnett, Angel Thunder coordinator. Participants go through a series of scenarios written by exercise facilitators that can range from capsized boats to stranded personnel. These scenarios allow groups to run through standard personnel recovery operations and identify any problem areas. "Recovering our brothers and sisters out of harm's way is a universal moral imperative," said Col. Jason Hanover, 563rd Rescue Group commander. "Every service, agency, and nation has an obligation to their people to prepare, plan, execute and adapt their PR capabilities. Angel Thunder is simply the best and most challenging venue to do that." The exercise will be ongoing until Oct. 21. Different countries are participating in the exercise as either players or observers. There are 16 different countries participating in the exercise overall including Singapore, Columbia and Australia. Players will include federal, state and local agencies such as the National Park Service, Pima County Sheriff's Department, Scottsdale-Osborne Hospital and University of Arizona Police. "Our joint interagency and coalition partners participate as operators and staff in order to walk away with the most robust training experience and comprehensive lessons learned possible," Colonel Hanover said.