CEIBA, Puerto Rico - The Puerto Rico National Guard and other military service branches partnered with local and government agencies to conduct the Advisor Edge 2023 exercise June 1-8, maximizing capabilities and interoperability with partner nations.
The joint exercise in San Juan, Aguadilla and Ceiba was created by Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) specialists assigned to the 156th Tactical Advisory Squadron, the 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron and the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron.
Lt. Col. Brian Broekemeier, 156th TAS commander, said the exercise tested air advisor readiness to adjust from peacetime operations to respond to a regional human-caused crisis or natural disaster or large-scale combat.
“This exercise challenged our teams to adapt and provided us the opportunity to test and evaluate some new team designs and communications equipment to get us ready to operate where and when we’re needed,” he said.
The air advisory squadrons developed tactics, training and procedures to operate with a partner nation in competition, crisis and conflict scenarios.
“This exercise provided an unparalleled opportunity to focus on how we need to train, organize, equip and sustain air advisors for operations in more austere and higher-threat environments,” said Broekemeier. “If a crisis or conflict happens, other elements of U.S. forces will have to fight to get to the fight; we’ll already be there, side-by-side with our allies and partners to sustain integration during unified operations.”
Air advisor teams demonstrated operational and tactical integration with a foreign security force, working in common operating areas such as cargo handling, airfield operations, marshaling, fuels, airfield assessment and communications.
“This exercise was a great opportunity to practice and demonstrate how air advisors can use partnerships to achieve objectives in places with minimal U.S. presence,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Gregory Marti, a SERE specialist with the 156th TAS. “In this scenario, we have created a mutually beneficial relationship with a simulated partner nation to train, evaluate and utilize their air mobility capability throughout the spectrum of peacetime, crisis and conflict.”
The Puerto Rico National Guard Army Aviation, U.S. Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Police Department, Fuerzas Unidas de Rápida Acción (FURA), Ceiba airport and other units and agencies supported the training experience.
“We could not have built this elaborate scenario that included simulated U.S. partnerships without building our own real-world partnerships with all the Advisor Edge supporting entities here in Puerto Rico,” said Marti. “It really was a win-win for everyone, being that all the organizations got some solid training value out of their participation. We hope to work alongside them in the future.”
Air advisors help build global air, space and cyber partnerships with counterparts in foreign security forces and apply their Air Force expertise to assess, train, and equip partner nations.