Expand Engagement: RAAF E-7A Wedgetail visits Hickam en route home from Red Flag Alaska
(From left) General Hawk Carlisle, Pacific Air Forces commander; Mr. Scott Dewar, Australian Consul-General in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Maj. Gen. Kevin Pottinger, PACAF Chief of Operations, greet the crew members of a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft on the flightline at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, August 26, 2013. The RAAF Wedgetail was at JBPH-H on a stopover on the return home from participating in Red Flag-Alaska. The Wedgetail’s interoperability with the U.S. Air Force and allied forces is vital to both current and future combined operations, particularly in the Pacific Command and PACAF areas of responsibility. During the visit, Carlisle emphasized the long-standing history of cooperation between Australia and the United States, with an alliance solidly grounded on shared values and common security concerns and approaches. Wedgetail participation in Red Flag-Alaska exercises directly assists the U.S. Air Force across all three of PACAF's core tenets: expanding engagement, increasing combat capability, and improving warfighter integration. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen)