Nearly 300 Airmen are packing their bags and returning home to bases throughout the Pacific as officials mark the end of a two-week multi-lateral exercise called Cope Tiger '06.

Gen. Paul V. Hester, Pacific Air Forces commander, spoke with Airmen here during closing ceremonies.

“Airmen are proud of themselves -- proud that they joined our service and proud to serve away from America's shores," General Hester said. "We need to make sure they understand how important they are to the total integration of what America is trying to do around the world and for the protection of America."

More than 1,300 people -- about 300 U.S. servicemembers and 1,000 servicemembers from Thailand and Singapore -- participated in Cope Tiger ‘06, which included aviation and ground units from the Air Force, Thailand and Singapore. The exercise is designed to promote regional security and stability in the Asia Pacific Region by developing and cultivating multilateral relationships.

"Cope Tiger offers an unparalleled opportunity to conduct a wide spectrum of large force employment air operations in a multi-lateral environment," said Col. Jeffrey LeVault, exercise director for U.S. forces in Cope Tiger.

"The lessons we take from this exercise are significant. The event provides a terrific venue for the cultivation of interoperability and coalition procedures in the employment of air power between the three countries," the colonel said.

Colonel LeVault said A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Osan Air Base, South Korea, were able to accomplish valuable bombing range skills. C-130 Hercules crews from Yokota Air Base, Japan, practiced night landings and low altitude training.

"Honing those skills is invaluable," he said. "They need this kind of training to keep their edge."

Cope Tiger aircrews flew more than 140 sorties in the two-week exercise that included Air Force A-10s, C-130s, E-3 Sentry (AWACS) from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and Kadena Air Base, Japan, and a KC-135 Stratotanker from the Air National Guard at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Aircrews from Thailand and Singapore also flew jets in the exercise.

Another benefit was the personal relationships built by international aviators and local community involvement.

"Our folks depart the exercise with better working relationships with their Thai and Singaporean counterparts -- the kinds of relationships that facilitate rapid responses for events like Operation Unified Assistance or other contingencies in the region," Colonel LeVault said.

Cope Tiger has been held annually since since 1994.