Exercise Angel Thunder provides life-saving training

  • Published
  • By Maj. Kristi Beckman
  • Air Combat Command Public Affairs
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. --  The largest personnel recovery exercise in the world, which included joint, coalition, interagency and international players, ended Dec. 12, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., with 773 hours and 262 sorties flown, 25 recovery events completed and 890 people trained. 

Dubbed Angel Thunder, this annual exercise initially created in 2006 by the 563rd Rescue Group as a base-specific event has grown significantly from its grass roots. 

Air Combat Command sponsored the exercise this year, making it a nationwide event involving people and aircraft from all over the country. 

Angel Thunder '08 included people from the active duty Air Force and Army, Guard and Reserve, National Reconnaissance Office, State Department, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Joint Forces Command and the Department of Justice. 

International players from Chile, Colombia and Germany also joined in the training while military members from Mexico, Canada and Pakistan were on hand to observe. 

Brig. Gen. José Vega, deputy chief of operations for the Mexican air force, thanked the 563rd Rescue Group and Angel Thunder commander, Col. Lee DePalo, for the opportunity to observe. 

"I am impressed with the participation and the exercise, and hope in the future to participate with you." 

Twelfth Air Force/Air Forces Southern Commander Lt. Gen. Norman Seip said he was proud of how well everyone worked together. 

"My hat's off to all of you," said General Seip. "The (personnel recovery) business is an extremely important one. You all are always standing by to respond to those in need. Whether it's rescuing a fallen comrade, helping out our fellow countrymen or assisting our international friends, we are all in this together." 

Those situations mentioned by General Seip, and more, were practiced during Angel Thunder. From a downed helicopter and survivors taking fire, to an earthquake-stricken host nation, to a U.S. Ambassador in need - all of the training scenarios were designed to simulate deployment conditions and contingencies. 

Maj. Brett Hartnett, Angel Thunder project officer, said the unique part about the exercise is that it's planned from the bottom up. 

"Units that participated got together in the initial planning conference and told us what they wanted to practice," said Major Hartnett. "The leaders did not dictate what the training would be, the participants did. When the planning was complete, a list of 204 objectives was ready to be met." 

Other important aspects of the exercise being tested were the command and control hub called the Rescue Operations Center and the rapid deployment package, Lightning Bolt. 

"The Lightning Bolt concept of quickly deploying lean, fixed and rotary wing personnel recovery packages to an austere environment was validated during Angel Thunder," said Colonel DePalo. "During the complex scenarios that were conducted, this concept was very applicable. And we set the template for the ROC, the imperative command and control model used successfully during our recent disaster relief responses to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, to effectively run this impressive personnel recovery exercise."

Mr. Dan Baumgartner, deputy director of personnel recovery policy, who accompanied exercise participant Ambassador Charles Ray, deputy assistant secretary of defense for prisoner of war/missing personnel affairs, said Angel Thunder set the bar. 

"We use all of our capabilities we have in a global fashion to recover personnel," said Mr. Baumgartner. "In order to better those capabilities, this vital training is necessary to save lives and is, quite frankly, the only exercise in the department and the U.S. government that is already on its way to implement the recently signed national policy for personnel recovery embodied in Annex 1 to National Security Presidential Directive 12, 'U.S. Citizens Taken Hostage Abroad.' 

"This exercise is not only ahead of its time, but will be an important rehearsal for how DoD and our interagency and international partners prepare for persistent operations and applying soft power effectively. I truly applaud all of your efforts," said Mr. Baumgartner. 

Echoing Mr. Baumgartner's sentiments of Angel Thunder's success, Col. Glenn Hecht, ACC Combined Search and Rescue Operations Division chief, said the exercise not only validated the Air Force's ability to plan, control, and execute personnel recovery across the spectrum of military and other U.S. government activities, but it did so in a way that harnessed and unified the tremendous rescue capacity found across the joint, interagency, and international communities.

"No other exercise exists anywhere in the world that does so, which makes it a role model for all others to follow," said Colonel Hecht.