MELEKEOK, Palau —
An Air Force Reserve delegation, led by Lt. Gen. John Healy, Chief of the Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, met with senior leaders of the Republic of Palau to strengthen security partnerships and explore future training opportunities in the Indo-Pacific.
During the visit, Healy met with Palau Vice President Raynold Oilouch and other government officials to discuss future operations that would help train U.S. pilots to operate in Agile Combat Employment (ACE) environments.
“The entire force, Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, would benefit from training in these remote ACE locations to help them conceptualize the environments,” Healy said.
ACE is a proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver designed to increase resiliency and survivability while generating combat power within threat timelines. The concept focuses on dispersing forces across smaller, widely distributed locations, complicating adversary targeting and increasing flexibility.
As part of the trip, a C-17 Globemaster III aircrew landed and took off from Palau, giving Reserve Airmen the chance to experience the island’s operational environment first-hand. The event also served as a proof of concept for potential future training and exercises.
“Being able to take this aircraft (C-17) and young crew to see exactly what the island looks like and how they would operate, helps set expectations as they train and execute,” Healy said.
The visit highlighted the Air Force Reserve’s role in building enduring relationships with Pacific Island partners and ensuring U.S. forces are prepared to operate effectively in the region. It also ties into the broader Department of the Air Force strategy of strengthening partnerships with allies and partners, as highlighted in “Partners and Allies: It’s a RAPP” and in Healy’s recent Indo-Pacific engagements.
