NY Guards in Brazil for Exercise Tapio 2021

US Air Force, September 20, 2021 - WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY by Eric Durr and A1C Daniel Farrell - Eighty New York Air National Guard Airmen participated in a ten-day long Brazilian Air Force training operation at Campo Grande Brazil in August as part of the New York National Guard’s State Partnership Program relationship with the Brazilian military.

The 105th Airlift Wing, based at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, transported two HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and 57 personnel to and from the Brazilian Air Force Base at Campo Grande in the southern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso in two C-17s.

The Airmen left on August 19 and returned to New York on August 31.

The bulk of the 80 personnel were 47 Airmen from the 106th Rescue Wing’s 101st Rescue Squadron, which operates the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, and the 103rd Rescue Squadron, which is manned by pararescue Airmen.

The 106th is based at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach on Long Island. Joint Tactical Air Controllers from the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron, which is based at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, were also part of the mission.

Exercise Tapio 2021 was search and rescue exercise designed so military organizations could train together and share experiences and best practices for combat search and rescue, according to Lt. Col. Chris Baker, the commander of the 103rd Rescue Squadron and the exercise project officer.

The joint exercise simulated war scenarios, to include helicopter infiltration and extrication, rescues which required a rope to access the patient, separated survivor scenarios, and an urban operation with a vehicle extrication and mass casualty event, he said.

The exercise was the latest event in a relationship that the New York Air National Guard and the Brazilian Air Force started building in 2019, Baker said. Airmen from the 106th were part of a delegation which traveled to Brazil and took part in classroom work sessions and briefings on structure and rescue, he said.

During the training, the Brazilians and Americans got the chance to familiarize with each other’s aircraft and tactical practices. In one mission the American Aircrews flew both Brazilians and 106th Rescue Wing pararescue Airmen during an infiltration mission. The American and Brazilian aircrews also practiced flying together on missions.

The tactical air control parties from the Unit Here also got a chance to work with Brazilian Airmen to call in simulated missions. The tactical environment on the ground was made more realistic by the use of simulated munitions said Tech Sgt. Dylan Crawford, a 103rd Rescue Squadron pararescueman and team leader during the exercise.

Exercise participants carried weapons firing simulated munitions similar to those used in Airsoft gun, he explained. In fact, the Brazilian Air Force contracted with a professional Brazilian airsoft team skilled in urban combat simulation to act as firing aggressors, Crawford said. This added to the challenge as 106th pararescuemen provided tactical combat causality care.

Training together in a simulated combat environment gave both Brazilians and Americans the chance to get to know each other better explained Col. Jeff Cannet, the 106th Rescue Wing Operations Group Commander who served as the exercise mission commander.

“Do we speak the same language? Not English versus Portuguese - what I mean is operational language,” he explained.

“Do they do the same maneuvers we do? Do they clear rooms the same way we do? Do they hoist and hover the way our Jollies (helicopters) do? What do we need to establish as rules of engagement and standard operational procedures to keep everybody safe and on the same page?” Cannet said.

“They were ready to execute…it’s a partnership and a relationship I can see blooming over time. I think there’s a lot of value in that,” Cannet said.

FAB Joint War Games in Mato Grosso do Sul

Brazilian Air Force by Lieutenant Jonathan Jayme - About 30 aircraft and 16 air and infantry units participated in activities that train the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) possible participation in UN peacekeeping missions.

On August 2016, the FAB kick off the second phase of the Joint Exercise (EXCON) Tápio 2021, at Campo Grande Air Base (BACG), in Mato Grosso do Sul.

In a simulated scenario, Air Force actions will be trained in a possible participation of the FAB in United Nations (UN) peace missions, contributing to world order and peace and international commitments; guaranteeing sovereignty, territorial integrity and patrimonial defense; and providing humanitarian assistance.

The FAB employed fighter, transport, reconnaissance and rotary wing aircraft in the exercise. Among them were the A-1 AMX and A-29 Super Tucano fighters; the H-36 Caracal and H-60L Black Hawk helicopters; and the C-130 Hercules, C-105 Amazonas, E-99, R-99 and C-98 Caravan aircraft.

The first phase of EXCON Tápio took place, from August 10th to 13th, at the Brigadeiro Velloso Proving Ground (CPBV), in Novo Progresso (PA), in the region known as Serra do Cachimbo.

The Tápio Joint Exercise 2021 Health Surveillance Commission took control of the accommodation locations through QR Code for monitoring purposes. In this way, if an infected soldier was detected, ii would be possible to recover, through traceability, the places where this participant circulated and the times, thus allowing the identification of possible contacts with other soldiers in the Exercise.