Poland. They remained "on duty" at the Belgian Chievres AB (subordi-
nated to the 86th Airlift Wing, also being used as a support facility for
NATO - SHAPE HQ). The second reason making the 21.2 rotation so
unique was the fact that it was also a part of the ACE exercise (Agile
Combat Employment). The ACE concept envisages rapid deployment
of strike assets to a forward operating base (austere, or known, and
ready to host the aircraft), with the limited ground crew. The deployed
ground crew personnel, thanks to the multidisciplinary training profile,
can rapidly get the jets ready to fly - even when the number of person-
nel is limited. The Americans are conducting extensive training con-
cerning capabilities as such. The assumption is to increase survivabil-
ity and mobility of the strike elements, also enhancing the asset man-
agement flexibility on the battlefield. The ACE exercise takes place
regularly, in different theaters. For instance, in December, four F-15Es
from the 48th Wing were deployed to the Scottish RAF Leuchars base,
with 14 members of the ground crew. This has been enough to handle
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