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Thracian Fall exercise kicks off in Bulgaria

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C-130J aircraft from the 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, fly over Plovdiv, Bulgaria, during Exercise Thracian Fall 2011, Oct. 17, 2011. Thracian Fall is an off-station training exercise designed to enhance interoperability between U.S. and Bulgarian Air Forces as well as build partnerships with paratroopers from both.

1st Lt. Caitlin Curran, a 37th Airlift Squadron pilot from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, reviews operating instructions during Exercise Thracian Fall 2011 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Oct. 17, 2011. Thracian Fall is an off-station training exercise designed to enhance interoperability between U.S. and Bulgarian Air Forces as well as build partnerships with paratroopers from both.

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October 18, 2011
Staff Sgt. Travis Edwards, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

PLOVDIV, Bulgaria  -- Service members from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Bulgarian air force are participating in a two-week jump exercise, which started Oct. 9 and is scheduled to end Oct. 22.

Operation Thracian Fall 2011 is part of a semi-annual off-station training that gives U.S. and coalition jumpers and pilots an opportunity to hone their battlefield skills together.

"We are here to further the U.S., Bulgaria ties, through cooperative training with Bulgarian forces," said Capt. Beau Tresemer, mission commander for Thracian Fall 2011. "It's a great opportunity to see how other countries train and prepare to fight."

C-130J Super Hercules from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, along with Bulgarian C-27 Spartans will continue to drop more than 100 coalition service members near a designated drop zone the rest of this week.

A plus to the training is the added benefit of working alongside Bulgarian service members, giving them a broad spectrum look at how the Air Force prepares for contingencies.

"Our pilots are accomplishing day and night flying with simulated combat drops in unfamiliar mountainous terrain," said Tresemer. "At the same time we are helping Bulgarians get their personnel airdrop qualifications."

"The Bulgarian airspace allows us the training we can't get in Germany," he said. "There are less restrictions on altitudes. Here we are allowed to fly as low as what our regulations say we can."

However, training isn't the only thing getting accomplished in Bulgaria. The relationship built from the jumpmasters from the U.S. and jumpers from Bulgaria is a bond that solidifies with each jump.

"It gets easier when we have a solid foundation of jumping with them in the past," said Staff Sgt. Myron Austin, 435th Contingency Response Group airborne planner and jumpmaster for the operation. "This is my third trip to Bulgaria and I have made plenty of friends that know me by face; the trust is there."
 

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