VAQ-142’s two-week stay at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska was an excellent one. With the sun never completely setting and wildlife running rampant, maintenance personnel and aircrew alike struggled to remain focused on the task at hand. 

Hosted and conducted by the United States Air Force, Cope Thunder is a multi-national training exercise held throughout the year.  Flying side by side with the Gray Wolves this time around were squadrons from Japan, Thailand, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Above the vast wilderness in northern Alaska, these flyers from around the world were given the opportunity to strut their stuff in mock aerial engagements. More importantly, the Cope Thunder exercise provided the United States Armed Forces and its allies with invaluable joint training.

Despite some bouts of bad weather, sunshine was prevalent during the two-week training schedule. During that time period, VAQ-142 aircrew took part in two large-force exercise missions each day, with each mission comprised of more than twenty-five aircraft.

Aviators from every nation involved shared the responsibility of planning, briefing, executing, and debriefing each of those complex strikes. The incorporation of different aircraft and tactics, coupled with the obvious language barrier, proved to be a daunting challenge. Through professionalism and dedication, the Gray Wolves and their international counterparts were able to succeed. 

VAQ-142’s success was due in large part to the diligence and hard work of the Administration, Intelligence, and Maintenance Departments. Admin kept the daily operations at Eielson, and at home on Whidbey Island, running smoothly. The Intel Department was an integral part of the planning for each of the daily missions and was able to provide the aircrew with accurate ground and aerial threat assessments for each flight.

A special thanks goes out to the Gray Wolf Maintenance Department. The maintainers managed to keep the jets flying and VAQ-142 at one hundred percent mission readiness. Their excellence and dedication was evident as the Prowlers at Eielson flew more than 70 hours and provided electronic warfare support for every strike mission that was conducted.

It wasn’t all hard work at Cope Thunder though. All found time for some fun and relaxation in Alaska’s pristine wilderness. Many Gray Wolves took the opportunity to experience the outstanding fishing Alaska had to offer. Several people entered a fishing competition in Independence.  PN3 John Della Rosa placed second by catching a trout weighing in at 8.5 lbs.

Others also sought out the plethora of wildlife for which Alaska is famous. “We had a great time looking for moose,” expressed AZ1 Irma Naranjo. “We saw geese, beaver and a lot of other wildlife as well.” AZ1 and others also took the opportunity to attend the annual “Summer Solstice Festival.” Perhaps the biggest outing was the visit the town of North Pole where many had their pictures taken with Santa. All felt that it was “pretty cool” to be able to say that they had actually visited Santa in his in his hometown.

The Wolves are back now and are hard at work with numerous detachments still to go this summer.