PACAF commander celebrates Singapore's 20th anniversary at Luke

by Staff Sgt. Luther Mitchell Jr.
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

12/18/2013 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Arizona -- The commander of Pacific Air Forces visited Luke Air Force Base Dec. 11 and 12, observing the Republic of Singapore's exercise Forging Sabre. The exercise and visit also coincided with the Singaporean air force's 20th anniversary at Luke.

Gen. Hawk Carlisle met with Maj. Gen. Hoo Cher Mou, Chief of the Singapore Air Force, and participated in a day of celebration. The day started off with an office call at the Wigwam Resort, then a parade at the 425th Fighter Squadron and ended with an anniversary dinner hosted by the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

"It's a great honor to be here for this historic event," Carlisle said to packed house of more than 300 people at a celebration dinner Dec. 11. "This day marks a significant milestone in the relationship between the USAF and the RSAF."

Attendees from the United States also included Ms. Heidi Grant, Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, and Maj. Gen. Michael Keltz, Air Education and Training Command director of intelligence, operations and nuclear integration. Other representatives from Singapore included Dr. Ng Eng Hen, the country's minister of defense and Dr. Lim Wee Kiak, Singapore member of parliament.

During the parade, Dr. Ng Eng Hen inspected the RSAF parade and gave comments, highlighting....?. [any quote from this on the RSAF-USAF partnership?]

At the end of the parade, Carlisle and Hoo unveiled the newly-painted tail flashes of USAF and RSAF F-16s, painted to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Peace Carvin II, the RSAF F-16 detachment which provides pilots with continuation training in F-16A/B.

Later that night at the anniversary dinner, Carlisle spoke on the partnership that the two countries have enjoyed over the years.

"I'm proud that Peace Carvin II has been a part of RSAF's transformation, enabling quality for the RSAF for the past 20 years," Carlisle said. "From bilateral engagements such as Commando Sling, to full scale multilateral exercises such as Red Flag, the RSAF has been a staunch supporter of high fidelity training with the United States for almost a quarter of a century. Incredibly impressive."

Exercise Forging Sabre is [insert brief description/goal of XFS here]. This year's exercise is the fourth in the series, which began in 2005. During exercise Forging Sabre, leadership from both countries travelled to Gila Bend in a CH-47 Chinook, where they observed bombing of dynamic targets on the Barry M. Goldwater bombing range.

From the command post, Col. John Hanna, 56th Operations Group commander and RSAF personnel watched the bombings on screen. F-15s, F-16s and AH-64 Apaches dropped guided bomb unit-12s, Mark 84 bombs and rockets before returning to Luke.

The week of celebration highlights the partnership the USAF and the RSAF have enjoyed over the last 20 years.

"We look forward to many more years, many more decades of this kind of friendship and relationship," Carlisle said. "It represents the best of both worlds."