Department-Level Exercise (DLE) Series

  • Published
  • By SSgt. Elijah Dority
  • Airman Magazine

 

  “The Department of the Air Force is focused on becoming a stronger, more lethal deterrent force. The way we will fight in future conflicts is constantly evolving, and this month-long exercise series shows we are investing in readiness and training to meet national security challenges.”

- Troy Meink, Secretary of the Air Force

 

Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink looks out of the flight deck of a C-130J Super Hercules while flying over the Indo-Pacfic region during the U.S. Air Force's 2025 Department-Level Exercise series. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler McQuiston)

  Through this series, the Department of the Air Force is preparing to be a stronger, more lethal deterrent force, to provide an advantage against competitors and adversaries across all domains, and to ensure regional stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

  The DLE series incorporated multiple command exercises into one overall threat deterrence scenario, including Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), Resolute Space, Mobility Guardian, Emerald Warrior and Bamboo Eagle.

  It also integrated multiple allies and partners in specific component exercises with shared interests. Partner integration is critical to U.S. efforts to ensure regional and global peace and stability and provides a decisive advantage against complex threats.

  The DLE series involved all Department of Defense branches, along with allied and partner forces, employing more than 400 joint and coalition aircraft and over 12,000 personnel across 50 locations and 3,000 miles.
 

 
U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 121st Fighter Squadron, 113th Wing, fly behind a KC-135 Stratotanker with the 121st Air Refueling Wing after being refueled after exercise Bamboo Eagle, August 10, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Mikayla Gibbs)



Bamboo Eagle

  Bamboo Eagle is a Department-Level command-and-control exercise hosted by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center and designed to simulate high-end conflict across the Indo-Pacific. Bamboo Eagle 25-1, conducted in February 2025, served as an early-phase test of joint and allied command structures, multi-domain coordination, and ACE (Agile Combat Employment) in a distributed operational environment. It involved more than 175 aircraft and 10,000 personnel across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Canada.

  This large-scale live virtual constructive event challenged participants to coordinate joint operations across millions of square miles, reinforcing joint theater integration, contested logistics, and resilient C2 systems.

  Bamboo Eagle 25-1 was instrumental in shaping the planning and execution of Resolute Force Pacific. It set the stage for Bamboo Eagle 25-3, the culminating event of the summer 2025 Department-Level Exercise series. Lessons from these exercises are directly informing the development of future operational design, allied interoperability, and command integration under conflict-like conditions.
 
 

Bamboo Eagle

Blue Flag

Emerald Warrior

Mobility Guardian

Resolute Force Pacific

Resolute Space
A U.S. Air Force Air Commando assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command oversees a forward arming and refueling point operation in California during Emerald Warrior 25.2, July 28, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Thomas Hansford)



Blue Flag

  Blue Flag is the U.S. Air Force’s premier operational-level command-and-control exercise, organized by the 505th Combat Training Squadron. The purpose of this exercise will train air component staffs in strategic planning and multi-domain coordination across air, space, cyber, and land environments.

  Blue Flag challenges participants to manage theater-wide operations under near-peer threat scenarios, including degraded communications, contested domains, and dynamic targeting, conducted in a simulated but highly realistic environment. It is designed to ensure senior air and joint leaders can make timely, informed decisions in a complex battlespace.

  The 2025 iteration, structured around an acute threat scenario, serves as a foundational exercise that informs Department-Level events like REFORPAC and Mobility Guardian. Lessons from Blue Flag contribute to refining Command and Control frameworks, battle rhythm execution, and allied integration to ensure air operations remain responsive and synchronized during high-end conflict.

 
U.S. Air Force special tactics Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing conduct exfil operations from the Caribbean Sea into a Mississippi Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk off the coast of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Aug. 28, 2025 as part of Emerald Warrior. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer)



Emerald Warrior

  Emerald Warrior is U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) primary joint and coalition special operations exercise, held twice annually. The 25-1 iteration ran from January 27 to February 14, 2025, across training sites in Arizona and California, with participation from allied forces including France, Romania, and Italy. The event tested core AFSOC mission sets under Agile Combat Employment and contested logistics conditions.

  Emerald Warrior simulates integrated special operations in multi-domain scenarios, including urban combat, CBRN response, aeromedical evacuation, and joint terminal attack control. The exercise allows AFSOC to refine joint planning with conventional and coalition partners in austere environments.

  Emerald Warrior 25-1 helped prepare special operations units for summer 2025’s larger Department-Level Exercise campaign. It is expected to feed directly into the 25-2 iteration, which will further integrate with exercises like REFORPAC and Bamboo Eagle 25-3, shaping future SOF engagement across the Indo-Pacific.

 
A C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the Royal New Zealand Air Force, a C-130H Super Hercules assigned to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and a C-130 Hercules assigned to the Republic of Korea Air Force taxi on the Andersen Air Force Base runway before flying by the 81st Liberation Day Parade in Hagåtña, Guam, July 21, 2025, leveraging a training sortie during the Department-Level Exercise series. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler McQuiston)



Mobility Guardian

  Mobility Guardian 2025 is Air Mobility Command’s premier, large-scale exercise scheduled for summer 2025. In partnership with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, it will be one of the most expansive mobility-focused training events ever conducted, involving approximately 70 mobility aircraft and spanning thousands of miles across the Pacific theater. The exercise brings together aircrews, maintainers, and support personnel from across the U.S. Air Force and numerous allied nations to strengthen the ability to deploy rapidly and sustain joint forces in contested environments.

  Mobility Guardian 2025 is designed to test and validate critical mission areas, including global airlift, aerial refueling, aeromedical evacuation, and the logistics networks required to support dispersed operations. Operating across diverse locations and under simulated threat conditions, the exercise will reinforce the Air Force’s capacity to deliver combat power anywhere in the world and ensure freedom of maneuver for joint and coalition forces.

  Planning for Mobility Guardian 2025 has been guided by lessons learned during Mobility Guardian 2023 and integrated with other regional exercises, such as Resolute Force Pacific and Ultimate Distribution 25. Experiences from these events will shape the planning framework, inform the sustainment strategies under contested conditions, and drive improvements in the interoperability and readiness of mobility forces for years to come.

 

Bamboo Eagle

Blue Flag

Emerald Warrior

Mobility Guardian

Resolute Force Pacific

Resolute Space
An ATV gets loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy assigned to the 337th Airlift Squadron, Westover Air Force Reserve Base, Massachusetts, in support of exercise Resolute Force Pacific 2025 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 13, 2025. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Owen Davies)



Resolute Force Pacific

  Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) is a Department-Level U.S. Air Force exercise scheduled for late summer 2025. Planned by the Pacific Air Force (PACAF), it represents one of the largest non-combat deployment in recent history, featuring nearly 300 aircraft and spanning around 25 operating locations across the Indo-Pacific. This four-week exercise will involve personnel and assets from the U.S. Air Force and more than a dozen partner nations, seeking to practice rapid deployment and sustained air operations in a contested environment.

  The exercise’s scale challenges PACAF to operate under austere conditions, supporting dispersed operations while facing simulated disruptions, demonstrating power projections and deterrence.

  Much of the planning for this Department-Level exercise was informed by preceding exercises such as Bamboo Eagle 25-1. It served as a critical precursor to REFORPAC, which will culminate in Bamboo Eagle 25-3. Lessons learned during exercises like Bamboo Eagle 25-1 and REFORPAC will directly shape operational plans, sustained logistics under threats, and the strategic objectives and structure for future exercises.

 

Bamboo Eagle

Blue Flag

Emerald Warrior

Mobility Guardian 

Resolute Force Pacific

Resolute Space
An Airman assigned to the 379th Space Range Squadron operates a spectrum analyzer during exercise Resolute Space 2025 in Colorado Springs, Colo., July 29, 2025. The 379th SRS joined the 25th Space Range Squadron, under Space Delta 11, in supporting Resolute Space, Resolute Forces Pacific and the broader Department-Level Exercise with an electromagnetic range environment for realistic training. (U.S. Space Force photo by Isaac Blancas)

Resolute Space

  Resolute Space is the U.S. Space Force’s first Department-Level exercise designed to integrate space-domain operations within the broader Indo-Pacific theater. Slated for mid-summer 2025, it will train Guardians alongside Air Force, joint, and allied units to conduct contested space operations, maintain domain awareness, and assure command resilience during simulated multi-domain conflict.


  The exercise focuses on live and simulated scenarios involving on-orbit threats, electromagnetic interference, and degraded communications—testing the Space Force’s ability to deliver space-based capabilities in support of air and joint operations.

  Resolute Space is fully embedded in the Department-Level Exercise construct alongside REFORPAC, Mobility Guardian, and Bamboo Eagle. As the space complement to these exercises, it strengthens strategic deterrence and ensures the Space Force can integrate and fight as part of the joint force during high-end conflict scenarios.

 
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