Video

Video by Staff Sgt. Rebecca Long

Frisian Flag 2018 Radio News Story

Regional Media Center AFN Europe

April 12, 2018 | 1:08

SSgt Long:
Frisian Flag is an annual multi-national exercise. This year it’s held in Leeuwarden Netherlands. Lt Col Aaron Mathena, the Detachment Commander of the 123rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Oregon Air National Guard, flew in the exercise himself.
Lt Col Mathena:
Frisian Flag I would say, is a premier exercise, with premier people, with premier capabilities. And we’re proud to be apart of it. Here in Leuwarden, we get the opportunity to fly and to train on a daily basis. And for us we get to perform offensive counter air and defensive counter air missions and training, to demonstrate again our joint coalition interoperability.
SSgt Long:
Being a multi-national exercise, Leeuwarden hosts many nations and aircraft. Royal Netherlands Air Force Major Bart Vendenbergh, the Project Officer of Frisian Flag explains how many and who all is attending.
Maj V:
Currently we have seven countries participating, we’ve got over 70 aircraft on the base, and we’re flying missions between 15-48 jets, two times a day.
So we’ve got the Americans, the Germans, the French, the Spainards, the Polish, and the Dutch are participating as well obviously. We’ve got NATO or the British with the jamming aircraft and we’ve got tankers from the same countries as well as Italian tanker.
SSgt Long:
Frisian Flag strengthens partner nations and solidifies the interoperability of the European Theater.
From Leeuwarden, Neherlands, I’m SSgt Rebecca Long.