ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Japanese photographer Hajime Ishihara documents a Cope North press conference here Feb. 4. The Cope North exercise is one of the longest-running series of exercises in the Pacific theater. Since the first Cope North exercise in 1978, thousands of American and Japanese personnel have honed skills that are vital to maintaining a high level of readiness. The exercise has been in the planning stages for several months and bears no connection to any real-world events. This will be the ninth Cope North exercise on Guam, and it will be the fourth time that the JASDF will use live ordinance.(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Japan Air Self Defense Force pilots Maj. Masataka Oguro and Capt. Hefumi Takeda take time to answer a few questions from media here during a small press conference Feb. 4. This was a chance for local and international media to ask questions about Cope North and learn what the pilots will take away from this exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Local and international media film Major August Marquardt, Cope North 09-1 exercise planner, as he speaks about the annual two week bilateral exercise here Feb. 4. The exercise has been in the planning stages for several months and bears no connection to any real-world events. This will be the ninth time the United States and Japan have held a Cope North exercise on Guam, and it will be the fourth time that the JASDF will use live ordnance. Sergeant Odell is assigned to the 354th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Eielson AFB Alaska. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Japan Air Self Defense Force maintainers perform pre-flight inspections here for a familiarization flight Feb. 4. Cope North 09-1 is the first iteration of a regularly scheduled joint and bilateral exercise and is part of the on-going series of exercises designed to enhance air operations in defense of Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Japan Air Self Defense Force maintainers perform pre-flight inspections here for a familiarization flight Feb. 4. JASDF F-2s, E-2Cs from the 601st Squadron, Misawa Air Base, Japan, joined forward-deployed USAF F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 18th Aggressor Squadron, B-52 Stratofortress' currently deployed here from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, and Navy EA-6B from VAQ-136 Carrier Air Wing Five, Atsugi, Japan, will participate in this year's exercise with a focus on interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - A Japan Air Self Defense Force E-2C Hawkeye takes of for a familiarization flight here Feb. 4. This is the 10th time that Cope North has been held here, and the fourth time the JASDF will use live ordnance since the first exercise in 1978. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - A Japan Air Self Defense Force E-2C Hawkeye starts its engines for a familiarization flight here Feb. 4. This is the 10th time that Cope North has been held here, and the fourth time that the JASDF will use live ordnance since the first exercise, in 1978. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Japan Air Self Defense Force E-2C Hawkeye joins a United States B-52 bomber for the two-week Cope North exercise here Feb. 4. Cope North is a two-week annual bilateral exercise between U.S. forces and the Japan Air Self Defense Force that began Feb. 2, and is designed to strengthen military relationships between the two countries as well as enhance U.S. and Japanese air operations in defense of Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force E-2C Hawkeye taxi's down the flightine to the parking ramp after maintenance here Feb. 4 during exercise Cope North 09-1. Cope North is an annual two-week bilateral exercise between U.S. forces and the Japan Air Self Defense Force. The exercise is designed to strengthen military relationships between the two countries as well as enhance U.S. and Japanese air operations in defense of Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam - Maj. Masataka Oguro, a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force pilot, observes a B-52 Stratofortress while waiting for a JASDF F-2 take off during a media day here Feb. 4. The media day offered local and international media an opportunity to learn more about the exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Courtney Witt)