This is anincomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help byexpanding it withreliably sourced entries. Please observe the definition of the list when adding or editing entries.
This is an incompletelist of U.S. Department of Defense code names primarily the two-word series variety. Officially, Arkin (2005) says that there are three types ofcode name:
Nicknames – a combination of two separate unassociated and unclassified words (e.g. Polo and Step) assigned to represent a specific program, special access program, exercise, or activity.
Code words – a single classified word (e.g. BYEMAN) which identifies a specific special access program or portion. A list of several such code words can be seen atByeman Control System, though the Byman Control System itself has now ceased to be used.
Exercise terms – a combination of two words, normally unclassified, used exclusively to designate an exercise or test[1]
The general system described above is now in use by NATO, the United Kingdom, Canada (Atlantic Guard, Atlantic Spear, Atlantic Shield) Australia and New Zealand, and allies/partners including countries like Sweden.
Able Staff – command post exercise, April–September 1997, practicing Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)'s nuclear warning system.
Able – Coast Guard first word
Able Manner –Windward Passage patrols to interdict Haitian migrants, January 1993-November 1993.
Able Response
Able Vigil
Able Avionics –Air Training Command program of 1976 to provide only elemental training for avionics systems maintenance at training centers, with further training given at field training detachments.[2]
Able Chief – Air Training Command program of 1976 to provide only elemental training for crew chiefs at training centers, with further training given at field training detachments.[2]
Ace Guard – NATO deployment of theACE Mobile Force (Air) andsurface to air missiles to Turkey, between 3 January 1991 – 8 March 1991.[6] Turkey had requested greater NATO forces to be deployed to meet any Iraqi threat after theIraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990.
Active Edge – Routine no-notice NATOAllied Forces Central Europe readiness exercise held twice yearly. "The most recent such exercise took place, on the date and in the format planned, on 12th June 1989. It did not include the exercise deployment of forces outside their garrisons." (House of Lords Debate 27 June 1989)[7]
Exercise Agile Spirit 19 began with dual opening ceremonies atSenaki Air Base andVaziani Training Area in the country ofGeorgia on July 27, 2019. Approximately 3,300 military personnel from 14 allied and partner forces were expected to participate in the exercise.[9]
Exercise Alam Halfa – U.S.-New Zealand, NZ-sponsored land forces exercise, Linton and Napier, central North Island, April 26-May 6, 2012. The new exercise series, according to theNew Zealand Herald, was made possible by the "Wellington Declaration" signed by the two countries in November 2010.[10] Continued probably yearly after that point; Alam Halfa 2013. Named for theBattle of Alam Halfa during World War II.
Allied Effort –Combined Joint Task Force exercises, in the sense of greater European Union involvement in military affairs. SeeBerlin Plus agreement. Allied Effort 01 had the CJTF exercising inWrocław, Poland. Also reported as codename for NATO's maritime operation in the Adriatic Sea during the Kosovo crisis in 1999.
Operations Allied Goodwill I & II, 4–9 February & 27 February-24 March 1992. After thecollapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, NATO flew teams of humanitarian assistance experts and medical advisors to Russia and other former Soviet states usingNATO Airborne Early Warning Force trainer cargo aircraft.
Operation Allied Harmony was launched in December 2002 to provide NATO advisory elements to assist the Macedonian government in ensuring stability.[11]
Allied Provider - initial NATO anti-piracy operation in Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Succeeded by Allied Protector.
Operation Allied Solace - NATO operation in 2021 after collapse of Afghan government to receive NATO-affiliated Afghan evacuees from Afghanistan and to arrange their onward transport and resettlement.
Exercise Ample Strike – In August and September 2017, the307th Bomb Wing supported and participated in Exercise Ample Strike, which was Czech Republic led with two B-52s and two B-1s. This was a critical, annual exercise meant to increase proficiency levels of all forward air controllers and joint terminal air controllers, as well as to improve standardization and interoperability across NATO Allies and partners that included multiple European countries.
Ample Train (previously Ample Gain) – Exercise "initiated to improve the ability of NATO's Air Forces to work on and with each others aircraft; ground servicing crews from one nation [worked] with air crew and aircraft from other nations."[14]
Anatolian Eagle – an air force exercise hosted by theTurkish Air Force (TAF) and held inKonya,Turkey. There are both national and international exercises held, the international exercises usually involving air arms of theUnited States, otherNATO forces, and Asian countries. The first exercise, Anatolian Eagle 01, was held by TAF Operations Command on 18–29 June 2001. As well as Turkey, the air forces of USA and Israel also participated.[15]
Exercise Anchor Express – In late February and early March 1986,2nd Battalion, 4th Marines deployed to Nordland and Troms counties of Norway, near Evenes and Brøstadbotn, as the main US ski-mobile maneuver element of the4th Marine Amphibious Brigade commanded by then Brigadier GeneralCarl E. Mundy Jr., taking a leading role in the multi-national NATO winter exercise, "Anchor Express". The wintry, subfreezing weather, unprecedented level of snow, and the rugged terrain in the operating area of "Anchor Express" astride Salangenfjord, Faksfjorden and Lavangenfjord tested 2/4's ski-borne Marines to their limits. Such was the deep snow, extremely steep mountains in fjord country and gusty subzero winds that on 5 March 1986, a devastating avalanche in Vassdalen, Nordland, struck 31 fellow-Norwegian soldiers, killing sixteen engineers from the elite Norwegian Army unitBrigade North, many of whose soldiers operating with 2/4 during the exercise. The Vassdalen avalanche was Norway's worst disaster involving the military since theGerman invasion of Norway (1940). As a result, Norway went into mourning and the force-on-force exercise prematurely ended.
Operation Anchor Guard – 10 August 1990 – 9 March 1991. Following theIraqi invasion of Kuwait of 2 August 1990,Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft of theNATO Airborne Early Warning Force were moved toKonya, Turkey to monitor the situation.[6] The aircraft remained at Konya to maintain surveillance of south-eastern Turkey throughout the crisis, which led to the Gulf War of January–March 1991.
Exercise Anorak Express – NATO exercise in 1980. In January 1980,USS Saipan (LHA-2) was out to sea to an amphibious landing at Cape Code in preparation for the exercise. Sailing February 14 for Northern Norway, the ship entered her first operational deployment.[16]
Operation Arc Light – B-52 operations in Southeast Asia, primarily bombing theSocialist Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam); South Vietnam; and Cambodia. Bombing Cambodian border areas was intended to hinder North Vietnamese use of theHo Chi Minh Trail supply line to South Vietnam.
Armada Sweep – U.S. Navy electronic surveillance from ships off the coast of East Africa to support drone operations in the region.[20]
Project Arrow – 1955 project byAir Defense Command to replace its postWorld War II air defense groups with fighter groups with "memorable recrds" in the two World Wars[21]
Atlas/Central Accord – Started byU.S. European Command in 1996, at which time it was called Atlas Drop.United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM) took over the exercise in 2008, and renamed it Atlas Accord in 2012. This put it in line with AFRICOM's other “Accord series” exercises, which focus on training African ground forces. Atlas Accord 12 was an AFRICOM Mali-based medical exercise conducted in Mopti, Mali, on 7–15 February 2012 despite the cancellation of Flintlock 12. The joint-aerial-delivery exercise, hosted by U.S. Army Africa, brought together Army personnel with African armed forces to enhance air drop capabilities and ensure effective delivery of military resupply materials and humanitarian aid.[10]
Atlas Eagle – in 2009 described as "Train forces capable of conducting joint and combined U.S., air, and land combat interoperability operations."[8]
Atlas Drop – from 1997 to 2003, U.S.-Tunisian exercise[24]
Atlas Response – response to Mozambique floods of 2001
Atlas Vision – peacekeeping exercise with Russia. Atlas Vision 2012 appears to have been the first of a series, according to commentators atSmall Wars Journal. Atlas Vision 2013 took place in Germany. U.S. European Command had been in the planning stages for Atlas Vision 2014, which was to take place in July inChelyabinsk (Chelyabinsk Oblast), and focus on joint peace-keeping operations. Because of thebeginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, “all planning for this exercise has been suspended.”[25]
Attain Document – in 1986, the US Navy began several "Freedom of Navigation" operations in the area around Libya, the first two parts of the operation being held from January 26–30, and February 12–15 without incident. The third part began on 23 March 1986 and led to theAction in the Gulf of Sidra (1986).
Austere Strike – U.S. Air Force system utilizing an electro-optical seeker and tracker for acquisition and tracking missions flown byMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II aircraft.[28]
Autumn Forge – A series of NATO exercises conducted each year inAllied Command Europe (ACE) during theCold War. It began in 1975 linking a number of training exercises under a common scenario, to present a more potent public image.[29]Autumn Forge 83.
Operation Avid Recovery – U.S. European Command activities with Nigerian and British service personnel in clearingunexploded ordnance left over after the2002 Lagos armoury explosion atIkeja Cantonment,Lagos, on 27 January 2002. U.S. Explosive Ordnance Disposal soldiers helped to "stabilize" the cantonment area, as well as "providing safety training to the public and special ordnance handling training" forNigerian Armed Forces personnel.[30]
Joint Task Force Aztec Silence – European Command "established Joint Task Force Aztec Silence under the Commander of theU.S. Sixth Fleet in December 2003 to counter transnational terrorism in the under-governed areas of Northern Africa and to build closer alliances with those governments. In support of this, U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assetsLockheed P-3 Orions based inSigonella, Sicily were used to collect and share information with U.S. [partners] and their militaries. This robust cooperative ISR effort was augmented by the release of intelligence collected by national assets."[31]
* Baker Mint Lens 99 – Conducted by the US Army and Malaysia in 1999
Baker Mondial V – Exercise conducted by the US Army and Mongolia in 1997. Trained on medical procedures.
Baker Mongoose II – Conducted by the US Army and Mongolia in 1995.
Baker Piston Lens 2000 – Conducted by the US Army and the Philippines in 2000.
Baker Tepid – A series of eight exercises conducted by the US Army and Thailand.
Baker Torch – A series of three exercises conducted by the US Army and Thailand from 1999 to 2001. Trained onborder control.
Baker Torch Lens – Conducted by the US Army and Thailand. Trained ondiving.
Bamboo Eagle - exercise practicing air warfare against the People's Republic of China in a degraded environment. The exercise “… replicated the challenges of conducting long-range missions in the Indo-Pacific, including how we integrate aircraft and other systems across all domains,” providing aviators with a “highly complex and realistic training opportunity.” As part of the Agile Combat Employment concept, teams operated from hub-and-spoke locations, including across California, Hawaii, and Guam. Began 2024.[34]
Banner – First word for withdrawal of USAF units from Thailand in extension of Keystone operations.
Banner Star – Inactivation of 43d Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, 556th Civil Engineering Squadron (Heavy Repair), 609th Special Operations Squadron, discontinuance of F-102 detachment at Udorn and movement of planes to Clark Air Base, consolidating F-105s at Takhli, reduction of C-121s of 553d Reconnaissance Wing by one third.[35]
Banner Sun – Ended USAF activities atTakhli Royal Thai Air Force Base; inactivated355th Tactical Fighter Wing, moved F-105s to Kadena Air Base, moved one squadron of Wild Weasel aircraft to Korat, reduced553d Reconnaissance Wing to a squadron, moved 11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron to United States, discontinued F-102 detachment at Don Muang and movement of planes to Clark Air Base.[36]
Bar None – Strategic Air Command exercise to test operational effectiveness of a wing. Name replaced by Buy None.
Operation Bat Cat – EC-121R electronic surveillance of the Ho Chi Minh Trail[5]
Exercise Battle Griffin – amphibious exercise practicing reception, staging, and operation of aMarine Air-Ground Task Force in defense of Northern Norway. Also involved UK, Netherlands. In 1991 Exercise Battle Griffin took place in February–March. That year the2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade made the first test of theNorway Air-Landed Marine Expeditionary Brigade plan. It was composed completely ofMarine Corps Reserve units asOperation Desert Storm was getting under way. The force comprised HQ Company 25th Marines, 3/25 Marines, Co E, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, and 1st Battalion,14th Marines (artillery, composed of HQ, Alpha, and Bravo Batteries).[37] Battle Griffin 93; Battle Griffin 96.[38]
Beacon Flash – U.S.-Oman dissimilar air combat exercise going back to the 1970s.[38]Carrier Air Wing 1 flying fromUSS America (CV-66) carried out at least two Beacon Flash exercises in the first half of 1983 (Command History 1983).
Beggar Shadow - late-1960s U.S. Navy reconnaissance program that collected intelligence about and communications between Soviet Bloc states while remaining safely (at least according to international laws) in international waters. The EC-121 shot down by North Korea in 1969 was on a "Beggar Shadow" mission.
Bent Spear - A Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff term identifying and reporting a significant nuclear weapon incident involving a nuclear weapon or warhead, nuclear components, or vehicle when nuclear
loaded. This term includes a significant incident as defined in DoD Directive 5100.52.[39]
Operation Big Buzz – a DOD entomological warfare field test probably conducted by the ArmyChemical Corps in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1955.
Big Eva - HeadquartersUS Air Force project, test program determining serviceability of the long-range AN/ARC-21 aircraftHFSingle-sideband (SSB) radio system[41]
Big Eye – Original name of College Eye Task Force, 1965–1967[5]
Exercise Big Pine – Combined Honduras and US Navy exercise in 1983 with the Navy deploying two carrier battle groups off the coast of Honduras.[40]
Big Safari – aUnited States Air Force program begun in 1952 which provides management, direction, and control of the acquisition, modification, and logistics support for special purpose weapons systems derived from existing aircraft and systems.
Operation Blinking Light – Continuation of Operation Blue Flame (originally Operation Bield Kirk) after c. 1986. In August 1988 operations were conducted fromPalmerola Air Base, Honduras, but returned toHoward Air Force Base due to logistical problems. Discontinued in 1989.[40]
Blue Eagle – Airborne command and control for Pacific Command, mostly operating EC-135J aircraft atHickam Air Force Base.[46]
Operation Blue Flame – Continuation of Operation Bield Kirk after operation name was compromised in 1984. Renamed Operation Blinking Light.[40]
Blue Springs – Joint Chiefs of Staff directive for photographic reconnaissance in Southeast Asia using SAC Ryan Model 147 drones. First mission flown fromKadena Air Base 20 August 1964. Moved toBien Hoa Air Base in October 1964. Included missions over China. Renamed Bumble Bug on 1 August 1967.[47]
Operation Blue Tree – US Air Force photographic reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam.[5]
Bold Quest – In 2013,Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point hosted warfighters, technology teams and testers from 10 states and each of the U.S. military services for the 11th Bold Quest coalition demonstration. Cherry Point was chosen for its ideal location for hosting East Coast military assets, and supported two U.S. Navy warships operating offshore.[48] Nearly 1,800 military personnel from the U.S. and partners participated in Bold Quest 17.2 in Savannah, Georgia, the latest in a series of coalition capability demonstration and assessment events sponsored by the Joint Staff. Over the course of 18 days in October–November, members of the U.S. armed services, National Guard, U.S. Special Operations Command, NATO Headquarters and 16 partner states participated in the demonstration, which collected technical data on systems and subjective judgments from the warfighters using them.
Broken Arrow - A Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff term to
identify and report an accident involving a nuclear weapon or warhead or nuclear component.[53]
Operation Brother Sam – US government contingency plan to support the military coup that overthrew the Brazilian constitutional presidentJoão Goulart, if the coup had faced armed resistance
Buckskin Rider – one of numerous exercises40th Air Division, USAF, took part in 1951–89 time period.[54]
Operation Buffalo Hunter – Drone reconnaissance operations over North Vietnam[55]
Bumble Bug – Photographic reconnaissance in Southeast Asia using SAC Ryan Model 147 drones. Replaced Blue Springs on 1 August 1967. Renamed Bumpy Action in December 1968[58]
Bumpy Action – Ryan AQM-34 (formerly Model 147) drone reconnaissance missions over Southeast Asia from December 1968. Formerly Bumble Bug. Mostly low level missions, when high resolution photography was required, or cloud cover prevented SR-71 photography. After October 1969, included missions as far as 200 miles into China. Operations moved toU-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield in July 1970.[55][59]
Busy Plotter – Program to increase proficiency of Strategic Air Command navigators by training them using Air Training CommandBoeing T-43 aircraft, rather than the more expensive B-52s, due to high fuel costs from 1979 to October 1981.[62]
Busy Player – Exercise which included participation of40th Air Division (in 1951–89 period).[54]
Busy Usher – Strategic Air Command launch of No. 13 LF-02 missile MK-1 Minuteman-II
Button Up – Strategic Air Command security system reset procedures used during Minuteman facility wind down
Buy None – Strategic Air Command exercise to test operational effectiveness of wings. Name replaced Bar None. Included participation of40th Air Division in 1951–89 period.[54]
Project Catalyst/Catalyst II - United States and UK development and acquisition program for technology enhancements to subsystems of Prophet (US Department of Defense) and Soothsayer (UK Ministry of Defence)SIGINT systems.[65]
Cedar Sweep – flights in 2010 by9th Reconnaissance Wing fromRAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, surveillance over Lebanon, relaying information about Hezbollah militants to Lebanese authorities. See Highland Warrior.
Operation Centennial Contact – An operation of theUnited States Air Force andNational Guard conducted on 27 June 2023 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the firstaerial refueling. Aircraft from various bases conducted aerial refueling exercises across the United States, as well conducting flyovers in 50 states.[66] 152 aircraft were slated to participate in the operation, with 82 tanker aircraft providing refueling support to 70 other participating aircraft.[67]
Exercise Central Enterprise – NATOAllied Forces Baltic Approaches/Allied Forces Central Europe exercise, "designed to test the integrated air defense system throughout Western Europe. Regular exercises which incorporate a major military low flying element over the United Kingdom include Central Enterprise (once a year), Mallet Blow (twice a year), OSEX (once a year) and Salty Hammer (once a year). Some of these exercises test and practice theUnited Kingdom Air Defence Region while others allow aircrew to practice tactical low flying techniques. The June 1982 Central Enterprise exercise marked the first practical test of the new NATO airborne early warning system." 1997 included deployment of301st Fighter Wing, Air Force Reserve.[68]
Project CHECO – HQUS Air Force directedPACAF project established in 1962 to document and analyze air operations inSoutheast Asia. CHECO was an acronym whose definition changed over time.[69]
Cobra Gemini – Transportable dual frequency (S- and X-band) radar designed to collect precise Scientific and Technical Intelligence (S&TI) data against Rest of World (RoW) medium range ballistic missiles.[76]
Cobra Jaw – KC-135T reconnaissance program, later converted to RC-135TRivet Dandy
Cobra Mist – Anglo-American experimentalover-the-horizon radar station atOrford Ness,Suffolk, England. It was known technically as AN/FPS-95 and sometimes referred to as System 441a; a reference to the project as a whole.
Cobra Shoe – reportedOver The Horizon (Backscatter) (OTH-B) radar designed byRCA Corporation, designed to monitor ballistic missile tests in the interior of the Soviet Union, installed in theWestern Sovereign Base Area (Akrotiri),Cyprus.[77] Source is "U.S. declassified documents". Installed since around 1964; no details on when/whether it left service.
Cobalt Blue, Poison Scepter - targets/locations for surveillance cameras along the coast of Somalia, 2002.[78]
College – First word used byAir Defense Command (later Aerospace Defense Command)
Operation College Cadence – Deployment ofConvair F-106 aircraft to Korea to reinforce air defenses after thePueblo Incident.[79]
Combat Talon – Modification program for MC-130E/Hs to become special operations aircraft with low-altitude deep-penetration mission capabilities[85]
Combat Track II – Command satellite-to-aircraft communication system with low probability of intercept or detection, deployed onB-2 Spirit,B-52 Stratofortress andB-1 Lancer aircraft.[85]
Comfy Levy – Volant Solo EC-130Es using palletized electronics and clip on antennas to conduct Senior Scout and Senior Hunter missions with operators fromElectronic Security Command.[88]
Commando Buzz – 1970 Employment of Coronet Solo EC-121s to aid the Cambodian Government by rebroadcasting civil radio broadcasts to remote areas of the country.[88]
Commando Club – US operation of theVietnam War which used command guidance of aircraft by radar atLima Site 85 in Laos[5] for ground-directed bombing (GDB) of targets in North Vietnam and clandestine targets in Laos.
Operation Commando Hunt – Interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, 1968–1972.[5] Individual phases were identified by roman numerals, with odd numbers used for dry season operations and even numbers for wet season operations
Exercise Commando Sling – Approximately three deployments of USAF F-15s and F-16s from both Active Duty and National Guard units from around the world are made each year to Singapore under this title. The497th Combat Training Flight takes part in regional exercise and global contingencies, and provides housing; morale, recreation and welfare facilities and programs: medical services; force protection to resources and personnel; and legal, financial, communications, and contracting support to assigned and deployed personnel.
Operation Commando Sabre – Use ofNorth American F-100F aircraft as 'fast FACs" in Southeast Asia[5]
Commando Solo – Volant Solo psychological warfare program renamed with upgrades to EC-130Es (and later EC-130Js). Originally Coronet Solo with EC-121Ss.[90]
Compass Dart – Project Phyllis Ann airborne radio direction finding in Vietnam renamed in spring 1967. Platforms redesignated fromRC-47 to EC-47 and direction finding equipment from AN/ARD-18 to AN/ALR-34.[95]
Constant – Arkin lists this prefix as an 'Air force operations first word, often referring toAir Force Technical Applications Center and other reconnaissance missions. Constant programs in the 1980s included Constant Bore, Constant Dome, Constant Fish, Constant Globe, Constant Seek, and Constant Take.'[81]
Arkin lists Constant subprograms included Constant Blue (Presidential successor helicopter evacuation plan), Constant Gate, Constant Help, Constant Phoenix (55th Wing nuclear monitoring) Constant Pisces, Constant Shotgun, Constant Source, Constant Spur, Constant Star, Constant Stare (anAir Intelligence Agency organization).[100][101]
Project Constant Growth – From October 1975 to July 1976 name of program to give copilots of heavy airlift and bombardment aircraft experience by flying smaller training aircraft. Nickname dropped and program retitled Accelerated Copilot Enrichment.[102]
Operation Constant Guard – Deployment of tactical aircraft to Southeast Asia in response to the 1972Easter Offensive[5]
Constant Peg – evaluation of clandestinely-acquired Soviet fighter aircraft atNellis Air Force Base, Nevada, by4477th Test and Evaluation Squadron. The idea of a more realistic training program for the Air Force was devised by USAF ColonelGail Peck, a Vietnam veteran F-4 pilot, who was dissatisfied with his service's fighter pilot training. After the war, he worked at theDepartment of Defense, where he heard about the Have Drill and Have Doughnut programs. He won the support of USAF GeneralHoyt S. Vandenberg, Jr. and launched "Constant Peg," named after Vandenberg's callsign, "Constant," and Peck's wife, Peg.[103]
Operation Continuing Promise – periodic series of US military exercises conducted under the direction ofUnited States Southern Command. Designated by Roman numeral (“Continuing Promise I” was in 2007), or by year (“Continuing Promise 2009”); they provide medical, dental and veterinary aid to people in Latin America.[104]
Exercise Cope Thunder – APacific Air Forces (PACAF)-sponsored exercise initiated in 1976, Cope Thunder was devised as a way to give aircrews their first taste of warfare and quickly grew into PACAF's "premier simulated combat airpower employment exercise."[107] Moved fromClark Air Base toEielson Air Force Base in Alaska in 1992, permanently, after the eruption ofMount Pinatubo.
Project Cornrose – Study of the use of nuclear weapons to destroy dams and harbor infrastructure[109]
Corona South – the72nd Bombardment Wing atRamey Air Force Base inPuerto Rico hosted the annual United States Air Force Commander's Conferences, code named Corona South, which began on an irregular basis in 1955. By the 1960s, Corona South had become a regular annual event at Ramey. It continued until the wing was inactivated.Military Airlift Command then continued them until Ramey closed and they were transferred toHomestead Air Force Base, Florida.[110]
Coronet Bare – 1969 demonstration of "bare base" concept of deployment.[111]
Coronet Cobra – Deployment of Coronet Solo EC-121s to Korat Royal Thai Air Base.[88]
Coronet Giant – Direct flight from the United States to West Germany by 12 Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II attack fighters, refuelled along the way by three KC-135s of the126th Air Refueling Squadron Wisconsin Air National Guard, spring of 1984. The route spanned 3600 miles, and was the largest mission of this type undertaken by a National Guard force to date.
Coronet Oak – the continuing operation in whichAir Force Reserve Command (AFRC) andAir National Guard (ANG) C-130 aircraft, aircrews and related support personnel deploy from the United States toMuñiz Air National Guard Base,Puerto Rico, to provide air transport for theU.S. Southern Command. The mission moved fromHoward Air Force Base, Panama, as a result of the DOD withdrawal from Panama, from April 1999. Units rotate in and out of Muñiz ANGB every two weeks. Forces assigned to Coronet Oak provide United States Southern Command with logistic and contingency support throughout Central and South America.[112] The mission typically covers embassy resupply, medical evacuations, and support of U.S. troops and/or theDrug Enforcement Administration.
Coronet Solo – EC-121Ss modified for psychological warfare to broadcast radio and TV with electronic warfare capability. Renamed Volant Solo with introduction of EC-130Es.[113]
Crazy Hawk – Airborne Reconnaissance Low Multifunction airplane based on the DHC-7 (military designation RC-7, then RO-5C, EO-5C)
Creek – USAFE first word
Creek Action – Command-wide effort by Hq USAFE to realign functions and streamline operations, 1973[114]
Creek Caste – intelligence program/project
Creek Claw – intelligence program/project
Creek Defender - USAFE-AFAFRICA's only Ground Combat Readiness Training Center for deploying SF members.
Creek Fury – reconnaissance over East Germany / East Berlin using C-130E aircraft.[115][116]
Creek Flush – Photo and ELINT intelligence program/project (circa 1975+)
Creek Klaxon – In 1986, the119th Fighter-Interceptor Group (ND ARNG) assumed the USAF Zulu alert mission atRamstein Air Base, West Germany. The 119th and other Reserve Component Air Defense units rotated to Ramstein and stood continuous air sovereignty alert for one year, provided for NATO.
Creek Party – Deployment ofAir National GuardBoeing KC-97 tankers to Europe to support United States Air Forces Europe operations.
Creek Sand - under this codename, "dozens of U.S. personnel and contractors have come to Ouagadougou in recent years to establish a small air base on the military side of the international airport." "At the heart of the surveillance operations are small, unarmed turboprop aircraft disguised as private planes. Equipped with hidden sensors that can record full-motion video, track infrared heat patterns, and vacuum up radio and cellphone signals, the planes refuel on isolated airstrips.. extending their effective flight range by thousands of miles."[117]
Creek Victor – intelligence program/project (circa 1980)
Creek Wind - U-2 eastern Mediterranean reconnaissance missions which supported Operation Enduring Freedom.[118]
Exercise Dawn Patrol – A five-nation NATO naval and air exercise conducted throughout the Mediterranean in 1974.[119] The U.S. contribution to the exercise was based on theUSS America (CV-66) carrier battle group.
Operation Deep Freeze Annual resupply operations for American scientific sites in Antarctica.
Operation Desert Lion began on 27 March 2003, during theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021). U.S. Army soldiers from the505th Parachute Infantry Regiment launched an operation in the Kohe Safi Mountains and surrounding areas in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. Their mission was to hunt for supplies and members of the Taliban and Al-Qaida.
Operation Desert Strike – 1996 missile strikes on Iraq.
Operation Desert Thunder – buildup of forces against Iraq, January–May 1998.[125] A new buildup of forces began in September, and then Operation Desert Fox took place in December.
Destined Glory – Cold War NATO naval exercise, Mediterranean. Also held May 1995, 7–20 April 1997 - DG 97, and 5–22 May 1998.[126] Also tested Multinational Amphibious Task Force concept, previous designated CAFMED until late 1999.
Operation Determined Falcon 1998 – 80-aircraft NATO show of force over Albania near Kosovo.[127]
Operation Determined Forge – maritime component of Operation Joint Force (SFOR II).[128][129]
Determined Promise-03 (DP-03) was a two-week, multi-level exercise which started on August 18, 2002, with a simulated outbreak ofpneumonic plague in Nevada, adding a hurricane, an air threat in Alaska, and a train wreck in Kentucky to the list of 1,700 'injects' that would crop up during the exercise. DP-03 was intended as the final testing event before the declaration ofFull Operational Capability forU.S. Northern Command, with DHS and a total of 34 federal agencies represented.[131]
Project Drill Press – Modification of aDouglas C-47 Skytrain with airborne radio direction finding equipment. A predecessor of Project Phyllis Ann, although the single Drill Press aircraft had more sophisticated electronics.[134]
Dust Hardness – A modification improvement to Minuteman-III approved for service use in 1972
Operation Eager Glacier – A secretUnited States effort to spy on Iran with aircraft in 1987 and 1988.[135] The information gathered became part of an intelligence exchange between U.S. military intelligence services andIraq during theIran–Iraq War.[136]
Exercise Eager Light – In October 2012, more than 70 U.S.1st Armored Division personnel deployed to Jordan to conduct Exercise Eager Light, a 30-day command post exercise that focuses on brigade-level warfighting tactics and procedures. This exercise dates back to the mid-1980s.
ExerciseEager Lion – Eager Lion 12 took place in Jordan. Now the largest DOD exercise in the Middle East, surpassing Bright Star.[137] The exercise "amounts to an outgrowth of the annual bilateral "Infinite Moonlight" US-Jordan exercise that stretches back to the 1990s."[138] Now possibly involvesSyrian Civil War contingencies.
Eastern Sentry - after the2025 Russian drone incursion into Poland, on 12 September 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that action to protect the alliance eastern borders would begin in the following days, involving military forces from Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and others.
Eastern Venture – reported Warning Order issued for airlift support to famine relief operations in Sudan, covered by CENTCOM Command History 1985, page 30 (via www3.centcom.mil/FOIALibrary).
Echo Casemate – Support of French and African peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic.[20]
Operation El Dorado Canyon 1986 – USAF and USN air strikes on Libya in retaliation for terrorist bombing of La Belle Disco in West Berlin.[146]
Exercises Elder Forest, Elder Joust, were former NATO air defence exercises in the UK.[147]
Empty Quiver - refers to the seizure, theft, or loss of a functioning nuclear weapon.[39]
Operations Enhance and Enhance Plus in the Vietnam War transferred large quantities of United States military equipment and bases to the South Vietnamese government in advance of the Paris Peace Accords which ended American involvement in the war. The two operations were conducted between May and December 1972.
Operation Essential Harvest 2001 – Successful NATO program to disarm National Liberation Army (NLA) in Macedonia.
Exercise Evening Star is the annual test of the emergency response routines to a nuclear weapon accident at Faslane,HMNB Clyde. It is conducted by theOffice for Nuclear Regulation. In 2011 the test failed as "a number of command and control aspects of the exercise were not considered to have been adequately demonstrated".[148]
Exercise Fearless Guardian 2015 – U.S./Ukrainian training exercise. (total 2,200 participants, including 1,000 U.S. military). Initial personnel and equipment of the173rd Airborne Brigade arrived inYavoriv,Lviv Oblast, on 10 April 2015. Under the program, the United States trained three battalions of newly formed Ukrainian National Guard troops over a six-month period beginning in April 2015 under the Congress-approved Global Contingency Security Fund.[151]
Fervent Archer – European Command directed Joint Special Operations Command task force in Sarajevo from 2001. Believed to be a continuation of 'Amber Star' (see above).[152]
Operation Flaming Dart – US air raids on North Vietnam on 7 and 11 February 1965 in response toViet Cong attacks on American bases in South Vietnam[5]
Flexible Anvil/Sky Anvil 1998 – Planning for Balkan/Kosovo operations byComSixthFleet to plan and be prepared to execute a limited strike option using YTLAM and CALCM missiles;[153]Captain J. Stephen Hoefel (May 16, 2000)."U.S. Joint Task Forces in the Kosovo Conflict"(PDF). pp. ii, 4.Archived(PDF) from the original on July 3, 2021.,[154]
Operation Fracture Cross Alpha – Operation to prevent North Vietnamese interference with air operations supportingOperation Lam Son 719.[55]
Operation Fracture Deep – Plan to strikeVietnam People's Air Force bases south of 20th parallel. Combined with Operation Proud Bunch as Operation Proud Deep.[55]
Fracture Jaw - Commander U.S.Military Assistance Command Vietnam sought to ensure thatnuclear weapons would be available for use in Vietnam in January 1968. Planning began to move nuclear weapons into South Vietnam so that they could be used on short notice against North Vietnamese troops.[157][158] The project was abandoned in February 1968 after statements byEugene McCarthy and others claimed that the U.S. was preparing to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam.[157]
Exercise Freedom Banner – Ann annual United States Marine Corps exercise is performed with rotating partner countries throughout the Pacific Rim.
Freedom Vault- exercise held in March 1971 inSouth Korea to demonstrate the capability to deployU.S. Strike Command units to an overseas area rapidly (source Parsch).
Operation FRELOC (FRELOC=French Relocation) – Relocation of units and equipment from France following its withdrawal from theNATO Military Command Structure in the 1960s.
Operation Fresh Approach – Test of proposed Strategic Air Command aircraftground alert atMountain Home Air Force Base in September 1957, intended to solve problems identified during Operations Try Out and Watch Tower.[161]
Gallant Hand – A large scalejoint warfare training exercise held in 1972 atFort Hood in which 23,000 soldiers and airmen participated.[28]
Gallant Journey 05 – Arkin write that this exercise was a "..Classified intelligence or special operations" activity held in March 2005, with DIA, NAS and CIA/OMA involvement.[162]
Giant Dragon – Replaced Trojan Horse as the name for SAC U-2 operations in Southeast Asia on 1 July 1967. Became Giant Nail in July 1969.[167]
Giant Nail – Replaced Giant Dragon as name for U-2 operations in Southeast Asia in July 1969.[168]
Exercise Giant Pace – A series of "Simulated Electronic Launch-Minuteman" exercises to test launch on command of Minuteman missiles by launch control centers or theAirborne Launch Control System[56]
Giant Patriot – "Operational Base Launch Safety System" program of test flights of Minuteman II missiles. The system was internally mounted on the missile and permitted ground controllers to destroy the missile if it deviated from its programmed flight path.[169] The program was terminated by Congress in July 1974
Giant Profit – "Modified Operational Missile Test" of Minuteman missiles designed to test all Minuteman launch procedures except actual launch to ascertain the Minuteman launch reliability.[170]
Giant Scale –SR-71 reconnaissance missions over Southeast Asia 1969[55]
“Giant Voice” - SAC Deputy Commander Major General Clements M.
McMullen announced in May 1948 this competition, conducted for the express purpose of reinforcing training. That first event consisted of crews dropping three bombs visually and three by radar from an altitude of about 25,000 feet. Renamed Proud Shield in 1987.
Golden Dragon – A combinedUnited States Navy-South Korea amphibious exercise in February 1973. The operation was held outside of Yang Po Ri island, South Korea.[172][173]
Exercise Grand Slam – A major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in theMediterranean Sea in 1952; also the codename forFrancis Gary Powers's U-2 mission over the Soviet Union, shot down on 1 May 1960.
Project Gray Wolf – U.S. Navy demonstration project in the 1990s that tested theAN/APG-76 multimodesynthetic aperture radar on anS-3 Viking aircraft for real-time, stand-offsurveillance and targeting support for fleet operations
ExerciseHard Rock was a combined communications and civil defence UK exercise planned for September and October 1982.[182] It assumed a conventional war in Europe lasting only two to three days, instead of the likely at-least-a-week, then a limited nuclear exchange.
Harvest Falcon – Bare base equipment. "Harvest Falcon assets are tan in color and consist of housekeeping sets, an industrial operations set, and initial flight line and follow-on flight line sets. The housekeeping sets provide billeting with heating and cooling, a kitchen, showers, latrines, and high-voltage power generators for an 1100-person encampment."[183]
Harvest Moon – on 29 November 1957, shortly after the launch ofSputnik I on 4 October, two German expatriates, formed Project Space Track (originally called Project Harvest Moon).[184]: 5 [185]: 1 It was established in Building 1535 of the Geophysics Research Directorate,Air Force Cambridge Research Center,Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Massachusetts.
Hasty Piper – Recruiting program using volunteers from technical training to return to their home towns to return to their home towns to augment recruiting from July 1972 to February 1972.[186]
Have Drill – Defense Intelligence Agency project whose purpose was to evaluate and test aMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (ASCC "Fresco") (YF-113A) fighter aircraft.[188]
Have Ferry – Defense Intelligence Agency project whose purpose was to evaluate and exploit aMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 "Fresco-C" (YF-114C) fighter aircraft.[188]
Have Host – Tests during the 1970s of vulnerability of ICBM silos using high explosives to simulate nuclear attacks.[189]
Have Siren – Counter infrared system for RC-135U/V/W aircraft.[46]
Have Sync –US Air Force program developingelectronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM)SINCGARS capability replacing AN/ARC-186 airborneVHF radios for direct communications with ground forces, resulted in development of the AN/ARC-205 Have Sync radio. Program canceled in October 1989.[190]
Project Heavenbound – Study of the use of nuclear weapons at high altitudes for air defense.[109]
Heavy Bare – Air Training Command training program to enable a fighter squadrons to deploy to a "bare base' under Coronet Bare.[191]
Heavy Hook –Military Assistance Command Vietnam Airborne Studies Group First Flight Detachment, based atNha Trang Air Base and operating specially modifiedC-123 Providers inserting and resupplying agents in Laos and North Viet Nam. Training was conducted by USAF personnel, but most missions were flown by Vietnamese and Chinese aviators. Later missions were flown by helicopters, including those flown by the20th Special Operations Squadron in Thailand.[192]
High Bar – Strategic Air Command Operations Order 63-65, covering worldwide SAC drone operations[193]
Highland Warrior –9th Reconnaissance Wing U-2 surveillance flights over Turkey and northern Iraq, flown fromRAF Akrotiri, to relay information to Turkish authorities. These flights were the topic of acrimoniousleaked diplomatic cables between British officials and the American embassy.[197]
Impala Rider – contingency planning to retain U.S. troops in Iraq after 2010.[198]
Operation Infinite Anvil - operation involving22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable (MEU) (SOC)) in the Horn of Africa, during deployment beginning August 2002.[199]
Exercise Inside Right - UK nuclear attack / civil defence exercise which took place in 1975.[201]
Instant Blunder - White House Military Office support to President Trump's quickly-preapred meetings with North Korean leaders.
Operation Instant Thunder was the name given toair strike planning options by theUnited States Air Force in late 1990 duringOperation Desert Shield.[202] Designed by ColonelJohn A. Warden III, it was planned to be an overwhelming strike which would devastate theIraq Armed Forces with minimum loss of civilian as well as American life.[203] Name was chosen in reference to Rolling Thunder and the perceived failure of step by step escalation of air strikes on North Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. Instead the intention was a large, heavy blow instantly ("shock and awe").
Iris Gold – On 3 October 1994, Company C, Second Battalion,5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) was deployed on Iris Gold 95-1 for presences forward and pre-mission training with selected elements of the Kuwait Ministry of Defense (MOD). The training mission rapidly transitioned to defense of Kuwait operation establishing a Combat Air Support (CAS) umbrella, which became part ofOperation Vigilant Warrior.
Iron Clad – second designation for specially equippedLockheed P-3 Orion long range maritime patrol aircraft, operated byVPU-1 andVPU-2 (Patrol Squadron, Special Projects), U.S. Navy.[204]
Island Thunder – U.S.-Italian "non-combatant evacuation exercise", 1996, 1997.[81] Island Thunder 12 was a DOE NNSA-FBI sponsored weapons of mass destruction domestic crisis management table top exercise, part of the Silent Thunder series, held in Hawaii, 29 March 2012.[10]
Joint Spirit – NATO Combined Joint Task Force CPX/computer-aided exercise, planned as a building block for Strong Resolve, 1–30 September 2001. Cut short after theSeptember 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.[209]
Juniper Falconry – On 29 March 1992, Vice Admiral W. A. Owens, Commander,United States Sixth Fleet, embarked aboardUSS Monterey (CG-61) with a 28-man Army, Navy, and Air Force staff including Brigadier General James Mathers (Commanding General, Provide Comfort) at Haifa for Exercise Juniper Falconry II.[211] From 1–7 April,Monterey was underway for Juniper Falconry II, with a two-day port visit in Haifa on 3–4 April. From 7–9 April,Monterey visited Haifa again for exercise debriefs and to disembark the Joint Task Force.
Juniper Fox
Jupiter Garrett – Joint Special Operations Command operation against high value targets in Somalia.[20] Included Task Force 4–84 in 2011–2012.[108]
Juniper Hawk
Juniper Micron – Airlift of French forces to combat Islamic extremists in Mali[20]
Juniper Nimbus – Support for Nigerian Forces againstBoko Haram[20]
Operation Juniper Shield – Counterterrorism operations in the northwest African Sahara/Sahel.[20] formerly known as Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS); name change occurred 2012–13, though OEF-TS was still be used at times in 2014. Closely linked with 'Flintlock' exercise.
Exercise Keen Edge/Keen Sword – U.S./Japan defense of Japan exercise. Every two years, the US and Japan hold theKeen Sword exercise, the biggest military exercise around Japan. Japan, the United States and since 2024, Australia, participate, with Canada playing a smaller role.[213]
Keystone – Overall name for withdrawal of US forces from Vietnam (see also Banner)
Keystone Bluejay – (Increment III) Withdrawal of 50,000 troops by 15 April 1970. Movement of 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron to Misawa Air Base and inactivation of 557th, 558th and 559th Tactical Fighter Squadrons.[214]
Keystone Cardinal – (Increment II) Reduction of troop ceiling to 484,000 by 15 December 1969. Movement of U-10 and C-47 aircraft of 5th Special Operations Squadron to Korea.[215]
Keystone Eagle – (Increment I) Reduction of troop ceiling to 534,500 in August 1969[215]
Keystone Oriole Alpha – (Increment VII) Reduction of 100,000 by 1 December 1970[216]
Keystone Robin Alpha – (Increments IV) reductions of 50,000 by 15 April 1971.31st Tactical Fighter Wing moved to United States,531st Tactical Fighter Squadron inactivated and planes returned to the United States, A-37s of the 8th and 90th Special Operations Squadrons turned over to the Vietnamese Air Force.[217]
Latent Arrow - one of the code names for a unit who carries out the U.S. Army's fixed-wing and rotary "covered air" mission, which involved moving personnel and materiel under civilian cover.[219] Better known as SEASPRAY; now seemingly namedAviation Technology Office.
Left Hook – Deployment of Long Arm RB-47H and Ryan 147D drones to the Philippines. The drones were to locateSA-2surface to air missile sites, which would then be attacked by fighter aircraft. Two drone launches in August 1965 were both shot down by ground fire. The project was abandoned and resources rolled into United Effort.[193]
Limp Banana - sensitive White House Military Office emergency medical diagnosis activity, relating to very senior civilian staff, which began on January 19, 2025.
Lone Eagle – Design of longer range reconnaissance drone starting in 1966. Renamed Compass Arrow[91]
Long Arm – Project to fly Ryan 147 drones near SA-2 surface to air missile sites, transmittingELINT to nearbyBoeing RB-47H aircraft nearby, but out of range of the missiles. Planned for operation over Cuba in December 1962, but not deployed. Tested in 1965 with Ryan 147D drones. Deployed as Left Hook.[193]
Long Skip – Support for India in border dispute with China in Kashmir, 1962–1963[221]
Long Life – launch ofLGM-30 Minuteman from 'live' launch facility with seven seconds of fuel.
Exercise Long Look – long-established individual exchange program between Commonwealth armies. For example, Captain Katie Hildred,Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, was dispatched on Exercise Long Look in New Zealand in 2017, a four-month program that was planned to see her deploy on various exercises and training packages with the New Zealand Army.[222]
Operation Looking Glass – U.S. Air ForceStrategic Air Command (SAC) then U.S. Strategic Command survivable airborne command post. The name came from the aircraft's ability to "mirror" the command and control functions of the underground command post at SAC headquarters. Began 1961.
Operation Louisville Slugger – 1971RF-4C Phantom II reconnaissance north of the DMZ to locate North VietnamFan Song radar sites.[55]
Project Low Card – Use of U-2D aircraft to support the Missile Detection and Alarm System (MIDAS) satellite development by testing sensors to monitor exhaust plumes from missiles launched fromCape Canaveral for future use on satellites. Renamed Project Smokey Joe.[94]
Lucky Sentinel –ARCENT combined multi-national and joint service forces command post exercise to train/sustain battle staff in theGulf region.[225][226]
Lucky Strike –ARCENT exercise consiting of field training,battle staff readiness,fire team missions and crisis response for contingencycommand post preparation for rapid deployment[227]
Lucky Warrior – Exercise testingARCENT's capabilties to receive, interpret, disseminate, and respond to information using Army Battle Field Command System (ABCS) components proving Joint Task Force (JTF) headquarters' capability to lead.[228][229]
ExerciseMaple Flag – An annualair combat exercise carried out fromCFB Cold Lake, Canada over the co-located Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR).
Operation Market Time – Joint (U.S. Navy and Coast Guard) and Combined (Australian and South Vietnamese Navies) operation to block transfer of arms into South Vietnam from North Vietnam by trawlers and other watercraft.[231]
Operation Menu – Covert bombing ofNorth Vietnamese Army andViet Cong base areas in eastern Cambodia by B-52s in 1969. Individual strikes were named Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack and Dessert
Middle Gust – A U.S. Air Force test conducted atCrowley, CO involving a simulated nuclear overblast of aMinuteman missile silo
Midnight Hammer - June 2025 Air Force and Navy strikes on Iranian nuclear sites
Operation Mountain Storm – Operation began on or about 12 March 2004, following the completion of Operation Mountain Blizzard. Part of spring fighting againstTaliban inAfghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom).
Operation Mule Train – 1962 deployment ofC-123 Provider aircraft toClark Air Base and South Vietnam to provide airlift training and support for theVNAF[5]
Exercise Nifty Nugget – A 1978 transportation plans exercise, exposed great gaps in understanding between military and civilian participants: mobilization and deployment plans fell apart, and as a result, the United States and itsNATO allies "lost the war". Estimated "400,000 troop 'casualties,' and thousands of tons of supplies and 200,000 to 500,000 trained combat troops would not have arrived at the identified conflict scene on time."[241] "Two major recommendations came out of Nifty Nugget: a direct line of command between the transportation agencies and theJoint Chiefs of Staff; and the creation of an agency responsible for deployments.[242] This agency was to be established as theJoint Deployment Agency, a forerunner toUnited States Transportation Command.
Night Train – Part of a series of chemical and biological warfare tests overseen by the DODDeseret Test Center as part ofProject 112. The test was conducted nearFort Greely, Alaska from November 1963 to January 1964. The primary purpose of Night Train was to study the penetration of an arctic inversion by a biologicalaerosol cloud.
Nimble Shield – Operation againstBoko Haram and ISIL West Africa.[20]
Exercise Noble Jump (de:Noble Jump) – A NATO maneuver that took place in the summer of 2015 inŻagań, Poland. A second edition of the maneuver (Noble Jump II) took place in the summer of 2017 in Bulgaria and Romania. In May and June 2019 the exercise will take place again in Żagań, Poland.
Operation Noble Response – U.S. delivery of over 900,000 kg of food after unseasonable rains and flooding in the northeastern part of Kenya, January–March 1998. Included formation of Joint Task Force Kenya, participation of43rd Airlift Wing.[246]
OperationNomad Shadow is the name of a classified military operation that may have begun in November 2007 to share intelligence information between the U.S. and the Republic of Turkey. Appears to involve UAV patrols, potentially in connection with theSyrian Civil War.
Exercise Northern Light – 1 New Zealand Special Air Service Group extreme cold weather training in Norway.[250]
USS Arleigh Burke "set sail on 13 August 1996 for a seven week deployment to the North Sea and perhaps ARLEIGH BURKE'S greatest challenge of the year: Exercise NORTHERN LIGHT/BRIGHT HORIZON 96. Assigned as Force Air Defence Commander/Anti-Air Warfare Commander for a 17 ship NATO Task Force, which included Great Britain's aircraft carrierHMS Invincible, ARLEIGH BURKE managed air space that covered 650 miles, air defense for two geographically separated Task Groups, and coordinated 256 air sorties originating from both land and sea. NORTHERN LIGHT/BRIGHT HORIZON represented NATO's first attempt at establishing a Combined Joint Task Force and ARLEIGH BURKE and her crew were critical to the exercise's success. The ship's impressive execution during NORTHERN LIGHT/BRIGHT HORIZON resulted in message praise from both the Joint Task Force Commander (commander, Second Fleet) and CTF 401 (Commander, ASW Strike Fleet Atlantic."[251] (sic: Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic (COMSTKFLTLANT)).
Exercise Northern Safari – Conducted onGreat Barrier Island from 5–28 March (1983 or 1984). The aim was to mobilize theNew Zealand Army Ready Reaction Force and practice selected elements in air/sea deployment and the conduct of operations. The exercise was supported byHMAS Tobruk, a company of the Gurkha Regiment fromBritish Forces, Hong Kong which acted as the enemy for the exercise, and anAustralian Army engineer squadron.[252]
Northern Wind 2019 – Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish main-defense style exercise being conducted on the Swedish/Finn border March 2019.[254] Live exercise March 20–27. Fifteen hundred Finnish troops incorporated into Swedish 3rd Brigade; Norway to contribute the entirety ofBrigade North including elementsNo. 339 Squadron RNoAF, aUnited States Marine Corps infantry battalion and aRoyal Marines company group. Exercise area stretching fromBoden, Sweden toHaparanda in Finland, and north to vicinity ofOvertornea.
Oaken Sonnet I – 2013 rescue of United States personnel from South Sudan during its civil war[20]
Oaken Sonnet II – 2014 operation in South Sudan[20]
Oaken Sonnet III – 2016 operation in South Sudan[20]
Oaken Steel – July 2016 to January 2017 deployment to Uganda and reinforcement of security forces at US embassy in South Sudan.
Objective Voice – Information operations and psychological warfare in Africa[20]
Oblique Pillar – private contractor helicopter support to U.S. Navy SEAL-advised units of theSomali National Army fightingal-Shabaab in Somalia. The operation was in existence as of February 2018. Bases used includedCamp Lemonnier, Djibouti; Mombasa and Wajir, Kenya; Baidoa, Baledogle, Kismayo and Mogadishu, Somalia; Entebbe, Uganda.[20]
Operation Observant Compass – initially attempts to killJoseph Kony and eradicate theLord's Liberation Army. In 2017, with around $780 million spent on the operation, and Kony still in the field, the United States wound down Observant Compass and shifted its forces elsewhere. But the operation didn't completely disband, according to the Defense Department: “forces supporting Operation Observant Compass transitioned to broader.. security and stability activities that continue the success of our African partners."[20][255]
Obsidian Lotus – Training Libyan special operations units[20]
Odyssey Lightning – Airstrikes onSirte, Libya.[20] It was launched on August 1, 2016, to support the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in expelling the Islamic State (ISIS) from Sirte. The operation involved 495 airstrikes and concluded in December 2016 after the GNA announced the removal of the last IS opposition from Sirte, though U.S. operations against ISIS continued elsewhere in Libya.
Odyssey Resolve – Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations in area ofSirte, Libya.[20]
Oil Burner – Strategic Air Command low level bomber training. Replaced by Olive Branch.
Old Bar – Telemetry checks of the Ryan 147G flown with EB-47H October to November 1966 fromBien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam. Operational missions againstSA-2 sites may have also been flown.[257]
Olive Branch – Strategic Air Command low level bomber training. Replaced Oil Burner. Name later dropped and training areas called Instrument Routes or Visual Routes. Appears to have been reused 1993-94 to describe U-2 reconnaissance missions over Iraq.
Olive Farm - Parsch writes that this is a U-2 contingency operation. GS.org says it may have been Middle East in the 1970s.
Olympic Defender – "U.S. space war plan", to be first shared with unspecified allies after a new version of the plan was promulgated in December 2018.[258]
Olympic Arena III – Strategic Air Command missile competition of all nine operational missile units
Olympic Event – A Minuteman III nuclear operational systems test
Olympic Fire - U-2 reconnaissance over Cuba, later "R" models from Patrick AFB, FL.[149]
Olympic Harvest - U-2R reconnaissance from Akrotiri
Olympic Play – A Strategic Air Command missiles and operational ground equipment program for EWO missions
Olympic Torch – U-2RCOMINT system in Southeast Asia, renamed from Senior Book on 11 April 1972.[259]
Olympic Trials – A program to represent a series of launches having common objectives
During 1985 and 1986, in Operation "Onaway Eagle", the76th Infantry Division successfully defined, established and executed the firstUnited States Army Reserve mobilization army training center atFort Campbell, Kentucky which became the model for utilization and employment of other Army reserve training divisions. During Operation Onaway Eagle, elements of the division successfully conductedBasic Combat Training for hundreds of new soldiers.
Project One Side – Operational test and evaluation of AN/ARC-65 airborneHFSingle-sideband (SSB) radio[260]
Exercise Open Gate –NATO air/naval exercise in the Mediterranean, late 1970s. 1979 iteration includedNo. 12 Squadron RAF deployment from Honington toRAF Gibraltar, carrying out the low-level anti-shipping mission.[261][262]
Open Spirit, Open Road - NATOPartnership for Peace (PfP) seminar Norfolk, VA;, In the Spirit of (ISO) PfP Mine Countermeasures (MCM) exercise and symposium.[263]
Orient Express - U.S. efforts to deny UN Secretary-GeneralBoutros Boutros-Ghali reelection
Operation Ortsac –US military plan and mock invasion exercise onVieques to overthrow a ficitious leader called "Ortsac" ("Castro" backwards) in August 1962.
Pacer CRAG – Late 1990s Air Force program providing avionic update/overhaul of C-135 and KC-135R aircraft including glass cockpit, enabling elimination of navigators from crew, where CRAG is an acronym for "Compass, Radar And GPS."[267]
Pacer Day – Modification of ten C-135Bs to WC-135B weather reconnaissance and atmospheric sampling aircraft by Hayes Industries in 1965.[268]
Pacer Forge – Exercise conducted during USAF basic training simulating operation from small, dispersed locations. Named for Primary Agile Combat Employment Range, Forward Operations Readiness Generation Exercise[269]
Pacer Galaxy – Element of Minuteman force modification program
PACEX (Pacific Exercise) –United States Pacific Fleet exercise series. PACEX '89 was the biggest peacetime exercise since the end of World War II. It was designed by Seventh Fleet "to determine the ability of US and allied naval forces to sustain high tempo combat operations for an extended period."[271] Three aircraft carrier battle groups, and two different battleship battle groups, gathered off the U.S. West Coast, proceeded through theGulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to Japan, and merged to conducted Battle Force operations against "opposing" USAF and JASDF and Navy as ANNUALEX 01G.USS Antietam (CG-54) served as the "..Anti-Air Warfare Coordinator for her successive battle groups and as alternate AAWC for the entire Battle Force. Steaming into the Sea of Japan,Antietam was also the AAWC for the Amphibious Task Force as they made their assault on the South Korean beach as Exercise VALIANT BLITZ 90."[271] Test of maritime strategy. See alsoLehman, John (May 2018).Oceans Ventured: Winning the Cold War at Sea. W. W. Norton & Company. Also PACEX 02.[272]
Pacific Bond – U.S.-Australian army reserve exchange
Pacific Castle – Pacific naval exercise
Pacific Haven – emergency evacuation of pro-U.S. Kurds toAndersen Air Force Base, Guam, September 1996-April 1997.
Pacific Horizon – WMD exercise
Pacific Kukri – UK–NZ exercise, 2000–2001
Pacific Look – U.S.–Australian army reserve exchange, 1997
Pave Phantom – Long Range Navigation (LORAN-D) AN/ARN-92 and computer added toF-4D Phantom II storing information for 8 different targets designated by theOV-10 Bronco with thePave Nail AN/AVQ-13 designator[273]
Pave Pillar – Generic core avionics architecture system for combat aircraft.
Pave Pronto – LockheedAC-130 Spectre gunship program adding a night observation camera, AN/AAD-4 or AN/AAD-6FLIR, and AN/AVQ-17 illuminator.[273]
Pave Scope – Development oftarget acquisition aids likeTISEO and the Honeywell AN/AVG-8Eagle Eye Visual Target Acquisition Set (VTAS) helmet sighting system[273][281]
Persian Rug - demonstrating the capabilities of theBoeing B-52 Stratofortress, on 10–11 January 1962 a B-52H from the 4136th Strategic Wing atMinot Air Force Base set a new world distance record, flying unrelieved 12,532 miles (20,168 km) from Kadena AB, Okinawa to Torrejon AB, Spain.
Phoenix Banner – "Special Air Mission", air transportation of thepresident of the United States, aircraft usually codenamedAir Force One. The basic procedures for such flights are stipulated in Air Force Instruction #11-289.[288]
Phoenix Duke I and II – involved NATO efforts to resettle ethnic Albanians into a secure environment as part of the peace agreement with Serbia, 1999, with participation of433rd Airlift Wing.[289]
Phoenix Copper – flights flown in support of the Secret Service for VIPs other than the president and vice president.[288]
Operation Phoenix Jackal – Support for Saudi Arabian and Kuwait against Iraq in 1994
Phoenix Oak – See Coronet Oak. Operation name when directed by Air Combat Command 1992–?
Operations Phoenix Scorpion I & II 1997–1998, also phases III and IV – Deployment of additional troops and equipment to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East during 'Desert Thunder' confrontation with Iraq.[291] In 1998 the433rd Airlift Wing participated in Phoenix Scorpions I – III.[292] Phoenix Scorpion IV involved David Grant USAF Medical Center.[293]
Project Phyllis Ann – Deployment ofDouglas RC-47 Skytrain aircraft equipped with AN/ARD-18 airborne radio direction finding equipment to locate enemy units.[134] Renamed Project Compass Dart in Spring 1967[95]
Operation Pierce Arrow – US Navy retaliatory strike on 5 August 1964 following theGulf of Tonkin incident[5]
Operation Pony Express – was the covert transportation of, and the provision of aerial support for, indigenous soldiers and material operating across the Laotian and North Vietnamese borders during theVietnam War.[295][296]
Project Popeye (laterOperation Popeye) – 1966–1972 weather modification in Southeast Asia to extend and intensify themonsoon season to make passage on the Ho Chi Minh Trail more difficult. Project Popeye was the 1966 test; Operation Popeye was the 1967–1972 operation.[297]
Exercise Port Call 86 – A Joint Chiefs of Staff sponsored command post exercise carried out 12–22 November 1985 (CENTCOM Command History 1985 viaBIG-IP logout page, p. 100).
Prayer Book – Gradual buildup of US forces in Panama Canal Zone during 1989, preliminary to Operation Just Cause.[300]
Operation Prime Chance – special operations forces operating off U.S. Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf, mid-1980s.
Operation Prize Bull – September 1971 strikes against North Vietnamese POL storage sites[55]
Project Prize Crew – Development and deployment of quiet night observation powered glider QT-2PC (Quiet Thruster 2 Prize Crew), later developed as theLockheed YO-3 Quiet Star[301]
Operation Proud Bunch – Plan to strike hard logistics sites in North Vietnam within 35 miles of the DMZ. Combined with Operation Fracture Deep as Operation Proud Deep.[55]
Operation Proud Deep – Combined Operation Fracture Deep and Operation Proud Bunch to strikeVietnam People's Air Force bases and logistics sites south of 18th parallel.[55]
Proud Phantom – unprogrammed tactical deployment ordered by Secretary of Defense/JCS, not part of the regular exercise program, in which 12 F-4E Phantom IIs and at least 400 personnel were dispatched toCairo West Air Base, Egypt, during FY 80.
Proud Shield - (i) SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition.[303] (ii) Second phase of Somalia intervention in the early 1990s after Restore Hope.
Proven Force – Northern air campaign from Turkey over Iraq in 1991. General Jamerson activated JTF Proven Force atRamstein Air Base, Germany. The task force had three component organizations: Commander Air Force Forces (later to be mostly the7440th Composite Wing (Prov)), Commander Army Forces, and Commander Joint Special Operations Task Force, which would seek and rescue downed allied pilots.[304]
Provide – EUCOM humanitarian assistance operations first word
Purple Dragon – joint forced entry operations. Purple Dragon 00/Roving Sands 00, Fort Bragg and Puerto Rico; Purple Dragon 98/JTFEX 98–1, Fort Bragg and Puerto Rico, Jan-Feb. 1998.
Exercise Purple Star/Royal Dragon – held in April–May 1996, the exercise brought together theXVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division (both from the United States),5th Airborne Brigade (British Army), the U.S. Air Force, the Royal Air Force, the U.S. Marines,3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines[308] and the Royal Navy. It saw the deployment of 5th Airborne Brigade to North Carolina in the largest Anglo-American exercise for twenty-three years. Relieved from the back-to-back commitment of aircraft carriers to the Adriatic in support ofUNPROFOR, the Royal Navy sent a large force, headed by a Carrier Task Group withHMS Invincible flying the flag of Rear AdmiralAlan West,Commander UK Task Group;HMS Fearless and an amphibious group; and an MCM group headed byHMS Hecla.[309]U.S. Atlantic Command, headquartered atNorfolk, Virginia, directed the exercise. The aim of the operation was to practise a joint UK force in combined manoeuver in an overseas theatre. The exercise provided the first opportunity to test the new UKPermanent Joint Headquarters, which provided the core of the British Joint Headquarters in support of the exercise Joint Commander.[310] The exercise also was designed to test the new UKJoint Rapid Deployment Force which was established on 1 August 1996. A description of 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division's experience during Royal Dragon can be found inTom Clancy,Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force, Berkley Books, New York, 1997, 222–228.
Purple Solace – 4-6 Jun 2013 Three officers from theCombined Joint Operations from the Sea Center of Excellence (CJOS COE) supported the U.S.Joint Forces Staff College's Exercise “Purple Solace” as mentors. This exercise is a 3-day faculty guided planning exercise which reinforces the initial steps necessary to derive a mission statement and a commander's intent (end state) and a limited Concept of Operations in response to a series of natural disasters.
Exercise Purple Storm – a series of United States Southern Command, orUnited States Army South, exercises inPanama in 1989 that aimed to both assert United States treaty rights and to conduct tactical rehearsals forOperation Just Cause.[312] These exercises were carried out, according to the Department of Defense, to protect the integrity of theTorrijos-Carter Treaties of 1977.[313] Purple Storm was part of thePrayer Book series of plans created as relations between Panama and the US deteriorated.[314] (CMH 55–5–1)
Quick Fox – Electronic intelligence missions flown fromMacDill Air Force Base, Florida near Cuba by C-130s under Strategic Air Command control until November 1962, then transferred to Tactical Air Command.[315]
Operation Quick Lift 1995 – Support of NATO Rapid Reaction Force and Croatia forces deployment to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Quick Shot – training activity by49th Air Division while in United Kingdom, period 1952–56.[316] Other training missions included Kingpin and Bear Claw.
Rainmaker – Turse and Naylor write that thisUnited States Africa Command codename refers to "A highly sensitive classified signals intelligence effort. Bases used: Chebelley, Djibouti; Baidoa, Baledogle, Kismayo and Mogadishu, Somalia."[20]
Rapid Trident – Exercise Rapid Trident '14, held in Lviv, Ukraine, near the border with Poland was to “promote regional stability and security, strengthen partnership capacity, and foster trust while improving interoperability between USAREUR, the land forces of Ukraine, and other (NATO and partner) nations,” according to the USAREUR website.[25]
Operation Ready Swap – Use of reserve units to transport aircraft engines betweenAir Materiel Command's depots.[318]
Exercise Real Thaw – an annual exercise run by thePortuguese Air Force with the participation of theArmy andNavy and foreign military forces. The exercise has the objective of creating a realistic as possible operational environment in which Portuguese forces might participate, provide joint training with both land, air and naval forces, and provide interoperability between different countries.[319]
Operation Red Hat – publicly acknowledged part of this operation involved relocation of chemical and biological weapons stored in Okinawa toJohnston Atoll for destruction. Most of the operation took place at night, to avoid observation of the operation by the Okinawans, who resented the presence of chemical munitions on the island. The chemical weapons consisted of rockets, mines, artillery projectiles, and bulk 1-ton containers filled with Sarin, Agent VX, vomiting agent, and blister agent such as mustard gas. There are indications that the codename was also used to designate storage and/or testing of chemical and biological agents on Okinawa in the 1960s, connected withProject 112.
Project Red Richard – 1959 relocation of nuclear weapons from France following an ultimatum from French presidentCharles de Gaulle.[321]
Reef Point – first designation for specially equippedLockheed P-3 Orion long range maritime patrol aircraft, operated byVPU-1 andVPU-2 (Patrol Squadron, Special Projects), U.S. Navy.[204]
Resultant Fury – DoD activity in November 2004 which included the weapons testing of free-fall bombs against decommissioned USN vessels off Hawaii.
Operation Riders Up – Movement of Strategic Air Command units from their Florida bases (Homestead, McCoy, MacDill) to make room for forward based Tactical Air Command units during theCuban Missile Crisis.[324]
Exercise RIMPAC – Rim of the Pacific Exercise, large-scale U.S. Pacific Fleet activity with allied involvement.
The tank landing ship ex-USSSchenectady lists after being struck by seven 2,000lb Joint Direct Attack Munitions during exercise Resultant Fury at the Pacific Missile Range Facility off the Island of Kauai, Hawaii, on Nov. 23, 2004.
Rivet - U.S. Air Force first-word name forBig Safari acquisition, modification and logistics support special purpose weapons system programs
Rivet Add – Modification of Minuteman-II launch facilities to hold Minuteman III missiles
Rivet Amber – one of a kindBoeing RC-135E reconnaissance aircraft equipped with a large 7 MWHughes Aircraft phased-array radar system.[327] Originally designated C-135B-II, project name Lisa Ann.
Rivet Bounce – Special purposeBig Safari program.[329] Likely the ECM system mounted on theRyan Model 147 drone duringVietnam War operations to interfere with the SovietS-75 SAM's SNR-75's radar.
Rivet Gym – Special purposeBig Safari program,[349]Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star operations duringVietnam War with addition of Vietnamese-speaking intelligence specialists manning four voice communications intercept stations able to monitor all communications betweenVietnam Peoples' Air Force MiGs and their GCI controllers.
Rivet Rider – Volant Solo EC-130Es Psychological warfare aircraft with full suite of electronic combat equipment.[88]
Rivet Save – "The Rivet Save program required two modifications of launch control center (LCC) equipment to prevent unauthorized launch of the nuclear-armed Minuteman ICBM while one crew member slept. First, SAC needed to eliminate the LCC's independent launch capability by removing the launch enable code from the LCC. Then, SAC would install a re-modeled LCC Launch Enable Control Group (LECG) panel which could enable the missile, only after receiving the SIOP [author's note: this acronym refers to the strategic war plan and execution procedures] unlock code."[360]
Royal Duke - Elint and Comint monitoring of Nicaragua by "Guardrail"Beechcraft King Air RU-21H aircraft of anArmy Security Agency aviation company, first half of 1980s. 114th ASA Aviation Company reported by UKWarplane partwork no. 46, 1986.
Rugged Nautilus '96 – a joint service exercise aimed at discouraging any possible terrorist challenges through a show of force inthe Gulf while the1996 Atlanta Olympics were underway. Also described as "..a USAF-Navy exercise to test US Central Command's ability to gather and organize forces quickly in theater."[362]
Exercise Saber Guardian – July 2016 exercise involving116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (ARNG) and troop elements from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and the U.S.[363]
Saber Safe – Minuteman pre-launch survivability program
Saber Secure – A Minuteman rebasing program
Safari Hunter – 2017 operation inSomalia with SNA/Jubaland striking north fromKismayo againstAl-Shabaab centered inMiddle Juba.[364] "Hunter" series shows Somali National Army Danab participation.
Exercise Safe Skies – 2011 Ukrainian, Polish and American air forces fly-together to help prepare the Polish and Ukrainians for enhanced air supremacy and air sovereignty operations. Envisaged as helping lead up to Ukraine hostingEuro 2012.California Air National Guard began preparing the event in 2009 via theState Partnership Program.
Exercise Sage Brush – November–December 1955 joint U.S. Army/Air Force exercise atFort Polk,Louisiana, lasting forty-five days.[365] Involved 110,000 Army and 30,500 Air Force personnel to trial army airmobility concepts to try to settle a dispute over the matter by the Army and Air Force. Some helicopter lift provided by the special516th Troop Carrier Group, Assault, Rotary Wing, flyingPiasecki H-21s as part of the 20th Combat Airlift Division (Provisional).
52nd TFW F-4G Phantom II taking part in exercise Salty Hammer, 22 May 1990
Saharan Express – AFRICOM Naval Forces Africa scheduled and conducted, multilateral combined maritime exercises with West and North African states, supported by European partners, focusing on maritime security, and domain awareness. Saharan Express 2012 was to be held 23–30 April 2012.[10]
Operation Sand Flea – A series of training exercises theDecember 1989 invasion ofPanama by the United States. These practices were conducted in part as training to defend thePanama Canal (a contingency then calledPurple Storm), but were also intended simply to affirm the right of the US military to engage in them.[212] Conducted in the summer of 1989, these seemingly endless movements, also known as "Freedom of Movement Drills," overwhelmed the ability of the Panamanians to observe, analyze and understand the activities. In this way, this program desensitized the Panama Defense Force (PDF) to the coming invasion.
Exercise Salty Hammer – NATO air defense exercise, including sorties flown over the UK.
Project Sapphire – Transport of 1,300 pounds (590 kg) of highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan to the United States in November 1994.[366]
In August 2002, Marines from the22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit carried out a long-range deployment exercise from the amphibious assault shipUSS Wasp (LHD 1) into Djibouti. During the deployment the MEU also participated in Operation Sea Eagle in the Gulf of Aden. Sea Eagle was also a U.S., Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand exercise held in 1981.[369]
Seek Clock - strategic nuclear related special access program (Arkin, 494)
Project Seek Eagle – The United States Air Force certification process for determining safe/acceptable carriage and release limits, loading and unloading procedures, safe escape parameters, and ballistic accuracy for all stores in specified loading configurations.[371]
Project Seek Frost – In 1977 theRome Air Development Center began the "Seek Igloo" project to find a replacement for theAN/FPS-19 radar that would require less power and would run for extended times without maintenance. In 1980,General Electric won the contest with their GE-592 design, and the final design was accepted by RADC on 30 September 1983 and passed acceptance tests that year. This system became theAN/FPS-117 radar. Seek Frost was officially concerned only withDEW Line radars outside Alaska.
Project Seek Igloo – Portion of Project Seek Frost replacingDEW Line radars in Alaska.
Project Seek Screen – Improvements to the Tactical Air Control System.[372]
Seek Spinner – 1987 evaluation of an upgraded CGM-121A as a low cost alternative to the AGM-136 Tacit RainbowSuppression of Enemy Air Defenses missile.[282]
Senior - U.S. Air Force special access program and reconnaissance related first word
Senior Ball – Shipment of material directed by USAF.
Senior Blade – Senior Year ground station (a van capable of exploiting U-2R digital imagery).
Senior Blue – Air-to-Air Anti-Radiation Missile (?)
Senior Book – U-2RCOMINT system, used on flights fromKorat Royal Thai Air Force Base over the Gulf of Tonkin. First flight 17 August 1971. Information was downloaded in real time to a ground station atNakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base for relay to USAF fighters operating in Southeast Asia. Renamed Olympic Torch 11 April 1972.[373]
Senior Bowl – 2 B-52Hs, serials 60-21 and 60–36, modified to carry two Lockheed D-21B "Tagboard" reconnaissance drones
Senior Cejay –Northrop B-2A stealth bomber, former Senior Ice (name changed when the development contract was awarded to Northrop on 4 November 1981). Sometimes quoted as Senior CJ.
Senior Chevron – Senior Year-related program.
Senior Citizen – Classified program; probably a projected Special Operations stealth and/or STOL transport aircraft. Arkin writes that this was an Aurora reconnaissance aircraft or similar low observable system.[374]
Senior Class – Shipment of material directed by Headquarters USAF.
Senior Club – Low-observable anti-tamper advanced technology systems assessment.
Senior Crown –Lockheed SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft,[5] based on CIA-sponsored A-12 "Oxcart"
Senior Dagger – A test & evaluation exercise performed by Control Data Corp. for Air Force Rome Air Development Center for purposes of reconnaissance. It may involve flights of Lockheed SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft in Southeast Asia.
Silent Barker – Observation satellite to trackgeosynchronous objects in space. Jointly developed by Space Force and the National Reconnaissance office[380]
Silent Thunder – see Island Thunder
Silent Warrior – Exercise Silent Warrior 16, held in Garmisch, Germany from Nov. 9–13, 2016, brought together U.S. Special Operations Forces and representatives from 19 African states to discuss cooperative methods to combatviolent extremism/extremist organizations.
Exercise Space Flag is aUnited States Space Force exercise dedicated to providing tactical space units with advanced training under contested, degraded, and operationally-limited ("CDO") conditions. First held circa 2017.
Operation Stair Step – Deployment of mobilized Air National Guard fighter squadrons to France to replace forces deployed under Operation Tack Hammer during the1961 Berlin Crisis.[387]
ExerciseSquare Leg - UK nuclear attack / civil defence exercise conducted in 1980.[201] The scenario involved around 130 warheads with a total yield of 205megatons (69ground burst, 62air burst) with an average of 1.5 megatons per bomb. The exercise was criticised as unrealistic as an actual exchange may be much larger or smaller, and did not include targets inInner London such asWhitehall.[388] Even so, the effect of the limited attack in Square Leg was estimated to be 29 million dead (53 per cent of the population) and 6.4 million seriously injured.[389]
Operation Steel Box/Golden Python – DOD supported withdrawal of chemical munitions from Germany and coordination of delivery/transport toJohnston Atoll.[390]
Operation Steel Tiger – Interdiction of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in southern Laos or the area of operations[5]
Operation Steep Hill (I through XV) – Planning and intelligence operations for the use of military force to prevent violence in association with civil rights demonstrations in the early 1960s. Steep Hill XIII called elements of theAlabama National Guard and regular army into service to protect marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.[391]
A reservist member of the BritishSpecial Air Service walks off a drop zone during Exercise Strong Enterprise in Denmark, 1955.
Operation Swift Lift – Use of reserve units to transport high priority cargo for the air force during their inactive duty training periods.[318]
Exercise Swift Strike – A series of joint exercises in the 1960s. Swift Strike III took place in July and August 1963 in the Carolinas and Georgia, involving over 100,000 men, including members of the National Guard as well as active forces.[394]
Tacit Rainbow – 1980s program to develop a low cost antiradiation missile with a loitering capability. Developed by Northrop as AGM-136A, cancelled in 1992 due to cost overruns.[395]
Operation Tack Hammer – 1961 Deployment of eight fighter squadrons from the United States to France responding to the1961 Berlin Crisis. Replaced by mobilized Air National Guard units under Operation Stair Step.[387]
Exercise Talisman Sabre – Biennial joint exercise involving United States and Australian military forces.
Operation Tally Ho – Interdiction operations inRoute Package 1, southern part of North Viet Nam[5]
Tamale Pete – Vietnam War air refueling operations planning. See Young Tiger.
Tandem Thrust – in 2005, Exercise Tandem Thrust, along with Exercises Crocodile and Kingfisher, was combined to form Exercise Talisman Saber.
Teal Ruby –STS-62-A was a planned Space Shuttle mission to deliver a reconnaissance payload (Teal Ruby) into polar orbit
Exercise Teamwork – A major NATO biennial exercise in defense of Norway against a Soviet land and maritime threat. It was established by Norway, Denmark, the UK and the U.S. in 1982 and grew considerably up until the early 1990s. Teamwork '88 allowed NATO to evaluate its ability to conduct a maritime campaign in the Norwegian Sea and project forces ashore in northern Norway. Teamwork '92 was the largest NATO exercise for more than a decade.[397] Held in the northern spring of 1992, it included a total of over 200 ships and 300 aircraft, held in the North Atlantic. Vice AdmiralNicholas Hill-Norton,Flag Officer, Surface Flotilla, led the RN contingent as Commander, Anti-Submarine Warfare Striking Force (CASWF), with Commodore Amphibious Warfare (COMAW) embarked inHMS Fearless.[398]
Tempest Express –United States Pacific Command computer-assisted exercise to train the HQ USPACOM staff to function as a Joint Task Force headquarters. The exercise is held as often as needed, three to seven times a year.[397] Tempest Express 2013 involved elements of the PACOM command post traveling to New Zealand to carry out a disaster relief exercise.
Tempest Rapid – Employment of DOD resources in natural disaster emergencies in the Continental United States.
Thracian Star – Combined exercises with theBulgarian Air Force, name is followed by year of exercise.[399]
Trojan Horse – Replacement name for Lucky Dragon operations starting in December 1964. AfterOperation Rolling Thunder began in March 1965, U-2 flights were restricted fromsurface to air missile sites. The name changed to Giant Dragon on 1 July 1967.[400]
Operation Try Out – Test of proposed Strategic Air Command aircraftground alert atHunter Air Force Base from November 1956 to March 1957, demonstrating its feasibility.[161]
Ulchi-Freedom Guardian – previously Ulchi Focus Lens. Command post/computerised exercise simulating the defense of South Korea.
Ultimate Hunter – "A 127e counterterrorism program using a U.S.-trained, equipped and directed Ugandan force in Somalia."[20] The base mentioned wasCamp Lemonnier, Djibouti.
Unified Resolve - search for Taliban/Al-Qaeda, June 2003, see2003 in Afghanistan.
United Effort – Use of Ryan 147E drones andBoeing RB-47H to gatherELINT onSA-2 sites in North Viet Nam. First missions flown 16 October 1965. Fourth mission successfully captured the fusing signal before being hit by the SA-2. With the critical information obtained and all drones lost, the operation was terminated in February 1966 and the B-47s returned toForbes Air Force Base.[402]
Operation United Shield 1995 – Support of US withdrawal from Somalia.
Upper Hand – A joint U.S.-Norwegian exercise designed to promote proficiency in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), underway logistic support, and communications procedures.[401]
Exercise Valiant Usher 86 – a declassified U.S. Central Command historical document[405] said that: 'Valiant Usher 86 was conducted in Somalia from 1 to 7 November 1985. Initially planned to be an amphibious, combined/joint exercise including the MediterraneanMarine Amphibious Unit/Amphibious Ready Group (ARG)and [Somali] forces, the exercise was completely restructured when the ARG was retained in the Mediterranean and replaced with a battalion (-) of the101st Airborne Division. In spite of limited planning time, the exercise was described as a "total success", highlighting both the rapid capability.. to substitute forces, as well as the flexibility of the forces to accomplish assigned objectives.'
Exercise Vortex Warrior – RAF Chinook exercise for desert operations in preparation for Afghan deployments at the U.S.Naval Air Facility El Centro, in Imperial County, Southern California. 2014, planned 2018.
Wanda Belle – "was Nancy Rae, 1 RC-135S '59-1491', named after Wanda Leigh O'Rear, daughter of Big Safari program director F. E. O'Rear, 01/1964-01/1967, to Rivet Ball, modified underBig Safari."[408]
Operation Watch Tower – Test of proposed Strategic Air Command aircraftground alert atLittle Rock Air Force Base from April to November 1957, intended to solve problems identified during Operation Try Out.[161]
Operation Water Glass –Air defense detachments in Vietnam in 1962-1963[5]
Project Water Supply – Project by Sandia Laboratories and the Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct storage sites for nuclear weapons. The first site opened in 1949 and the last in 1957.[409]
Whale Tale - U-2 missions to take photos of the French Mururoa nuclear test site.
White Cloud – (1) A Navy program for liquid propellant guns; (2) USN, ocean reconnaissance/surveillanceNaval Ocean Surveillance System, first generation of satellites.[411]
Chinook helicopters fromNo. 18 (B) Squadron RAF practising desert operations during Exercise Vortex Warrior '14, April 2014.
Operation White Star – Also known as Project White Star, was a United States military advisory mission to Laos in 1959–62.
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^Bischoff, Manfred."Luftgestützte Aufklärungsplattformen" [Airborne reconnaissance platforms] (in German). RetrievedJuly 19, 2024.Diese Einsätze wurden von der USAFE auch als CREEK FURY bezeichnet [These missions were also referred to as CREEK FURY by the USAFE]
^Whitlock, Craig (June 14, 2012). "Military expands spying in Africa". Washington Post. Via Ebsco.
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^Air Force Cambridge Research Center. Background of National Space Surveillance Control Center. Press release 60-P7. Bedford, MA: February 1960?
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^"Origin of Call Sign "Lucky"".U.S. Army Central.army.mil. RetrievedAugust 29, 2025.Where did U.S. Army Central get the call sign "Lucky"? General George S. Patton chose it. While other headquarters in theater at the time selected more heady designations, such as "Liberty," "Eagle," or "Master," General Patton picked "Lucky" - epitomizing both the victorious career and the jovial character of his newest and largest command.
^Danita L. Hunter, "United States Transportation Command, 10 Years of Excellence, 1987–1997" (Scott Air Force Base, IL: USTRANSCOM) cited in Bridges and Navarro, "Mobilizing for Major War", Parameters, Vol 47, No. 2, 2017, p.92.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain..