2 Wing trains in the Pacific during Multinational Exercise COPE NORTH 24

March 4, 2024 - Defence Stories

Lieutenant Nabil Allou
2 Wing Bagotville Public Affairs Officer

More than 2,400 military personnel from the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, France and Canada gathered in Guam from February 5th to 23rd, for the 2024 iteration of Exercise COPE NORTH 24 (Ex CN). Among them was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) detachment made up entirely of 2 Wing members.

Established in 1978 at Misawa Air Base in Japan, Ex CN was moved to the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in 1999. Initially structured as a bilateral exercise, it became a trilateral exercise with the addition of the Royal Australian Air Force in 2012. Today, Ex CN is one of the largest annual multilateral exercise of the United States’ Pacific Air Forces. The 2024 iteration, however, marks a special occasion for Canada as it is the first time the RCAF has participated beyond observation.

Spread across Andersen Air Force Base, Northwest Field, Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport and the Northern Mariana Islands, the overall mission of the exercise was to conduct multilateral Combat Air Force operations, agile operations and contingency operations based on a predetermined scenario. At the 2 Wing level, the intention was "to further develop the concept of Agile Combat Employment, improve interoperability and the warfighting spirit, and strengthen relations with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility", as emphasized by 2 Wing Commander, Colonel Steeve Belley.

The 2 Wing members on exercise took part in a number of training opportunities in Guam, including those for the Force Protection Flight, on the Multinational Security Forces course, and for the Construction Engineers, on the Rapid Airfield Damage Repair and Matting Installation course. The members also took part in expeditionary air traffic control, aircraft refuelling, logistics operations and air mission planning. This multitude of activities and tasks was all coordinated and complemented under the common theme of Agile Combat Employment (ACE). 

The ACE concept is an operational scheme of maneuver recently introduced by the United States Air Force. It is primarily designed to promote agility, deterrence and resilience in a contested or degraded environment. And this is precisely within the expeditionary expertise of 2 Wing, which has a mandate to deploy rapidly within Canada or abroad at any time.

A concrete example of the ACE's application on Ex CN was when "the Canadian Expeditionary Air Traffic Management Team controlled the first-ever landing of a foreign fighter aircraft at Northwest Field and tested the new Airfield Matting installed with the help of the Canadians from the Multinational Task Force Construction Engineering Team”, explains Captain Alan Morgan, commander of the RCAF detachment on Ex CN 24. A truly historic moment for Canada and the concept of ACE. 

"We have developed some incredible relationships during this exercise, and we are already looking forward to returning to Guam," adds Captain Morgan. On that note, we are looking forward to next year!