LAJES, Portugal –
The ‘Mad Foxes’ of Patrol Squadron (VP) 5 arrived at the Lajes Air Base, Portugal, and participated in maritime domain awareness and an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise Jan. 13, 2018.
This U.S.-led exercise in the North Atlantic facilitated the progressive training of maritime patrol and ASW techniques and aided in strengthening the security of the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.
VP-5’s Combat Air Crew (CAC) 2 and CAC-8 flew the P-8A Poseidon from their current deployment site in Sigonella, Italy, to operate out of Lajes Air Base. From Jan. 14-21, these CACs flew eight training and exercise flights with American and Portuguese support out of Lajes Air.
“The Air Force and Portuguese hosts were incredibly accommodating,” said Lt. Jon Glassman. “Being able to effectively operate from a new location was a great experience and provided an excellent training opportunity for our maintenance team and aircrews.”
The Mad Foxes used the opportunity to plan and execute training missions in coordination with support elements from the Air Force and work effectively through cooperation with Portuguese hosts. This enabled successful flights in a part of the Atlantic that is otherwise difficult to access.
“The exercise provided us a fantastic training opportunity to go to a new location and work with a new team so that we could conduct this training opportunity in a new location,” said Naval Aircrewman 1st Class Xavier Page. “We are excited to build on this experience and continue to develop our relationships with our hosts.”
VP-5 is halfway through their six-month deployment to U.S. 4th Fleet and U.S. 6th Fleet. In just a few months, they have already operated out of 11 countries and have no plans to slow operations anytime soon, as these activities have played a vital role in improving maritime security and dominance through these continued operations.