Air Force Academy culminating training puts cadets through war scenario

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) held its large-scale annual “CULEX,” or culminating training exercise, on Thursday, giving cadets a realistic look at a combat scenario.

The 24-hour-a-day exercise places nearly 4,000 cadets in a mock war setting, where upperclassmen lead complex missions and younger students follow orders. This year, it runs April 15 through April 18. 

The Air Force Academy is 18,500 acres, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, but on Thursday, the culminating exercise scenario transformed USAFA into Hokkaido, a Japanese island under attack by enemy forces.

“We’ve pretty much taken over the entirety of USAFA, to allow all 4,000 of our cadets to have space to operate throughout the exercise,” said CULEX director Col. Jennifer Hall.

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U.S. Air Force Academy cadets hike through the woods during field exercise. (Amy Galo)

In the war scenario, Japan has asked the U.S. to come in as a defensive force. 

“In this scenario, we have four established airfields,” Hall said. “And so that’s what’s established, the four joint operating areas that we have them in.”

Each joint operation area, or JOA, has around 800 cadets, defending an airfield, two high-value assets and a downed airman. Cadets also face real-world issues such as injured officers and invasions by enemy targets deemed the “Red Force.”

Map displaying the four joint operating areas during the CULEX. (Amy Galo)

“We pulled out one squadron to play Red Force,” said Hall. “So our cadets are actually playing Red Force, and they’re out there in the field right now harassing our cadets. They’re doing an amazing job. They’re super excited.”

Hall explained, “What we’re trying to do is have the cadets prioritize through decision-making. And you’ll see all across that Red Force is trying to complicate that to the best of their ability.”

While the situation may not be real, it definitely looks and feels like it.

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“You’ll see about 15 tents laid down as an austere, expeditionary environment, two of which are tactical operations centers and a medical tent and warming tent,” Hall explained. “And then we have sleeping tents for the cadets, because we will be remaining overnight for the first time.”

U.S. Air Force cadets on the lookout for enemy targets during the culminating exercise. (Amy Galo)

Some cadets fly airplanes while others deploy parachutes in the sky. On the ground, hundreds of cadets equipped with air soft guns defend their camps, taking radio traffic from troops under attack. Meanwhile, students in mission control use drones and mapping technology to solve real-world problems.

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Air Force cadets participate in CULEX training. (Amy Galo)

“The only way to prepare for the fight that we’re in, or the future fight, is to develop the training necessary where they can experience it real time, in the woods, in the field,” said Hall.

Now in its second year, the CULEX focuses on building confidence, teamwork and leadership skills rather than testing cadets with a pass-or-fail system. It’s a multi-domain tactical exercise designed to replicate the environments future Space Force and Air Force officers may encounter.

USAFA students study a map during their culminating exercise. (Amy Galo)

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“For our seniors, in 44 days, they’re going to graduate, and they’re going to go off, and they’re going to be officers in our Space Force and Air Force— how much more equipped they’re going to be to lead, to face complicated problems, to know that they can do what’s difficult,” said Hall.