No Runway Required: Joint service members perform contingency airfield operations

No Runway Required: Joint service members perform contingency airfield operations

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cameron Piontek, 8th Operations Support Squadron landing zone safety officer and instructor, and Master Sgt. Matthew Fraser, 36th Tactical Advisory Squadron LZ Operations Course student, coordinates landing support during a simulated deployed environment for a LZ Operations Course at Lejima, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19, 2026. This field training validated the students' ability to perform multi-capable airfield operations, ensuring rapid deployment capabilities can be projected from any austere location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kayla Karelas)

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No Runway Required: Joint service members perform contingency airfield operations

U.S. Air Force Landing Zone Operations Course students observe a C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron land on an unimproved landing zone during a simulated deployed environment training at Lejima, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19, 2026. By operating on an unimproved landing strip, the training prepared airfield specialists to establish and secure critical logistics hubs in simulated contested environments. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kayla Karelas)

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No Runway Required: Joint service members perform contingency airfield operations

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Garcia, 374th Operations Support Squadron landing zone safety officer and instructor, instructs students during a simulated deployed environment for a LZ Operations Course at Lejima, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19, 2026. This field training validated the students' ability to perform multi-capable airfield operations, ensuring rapid deployment capabilities can be projected from any austere location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kayla Karelas)

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No Runway Required: Joint service members perform contingency airfield operations

A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron touches down on an unimproved landing zone during a simulated deployed environment for a LZ Operations Course at Lejima, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19, 2026. This field training validated the students' ability to perform multi-capable airfield operations, ensuring rapid deployment capabilities can be projected from any austere location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Kayla Karelas)

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LEJIMA, Okinawa, Japan — U.S. joint service members and participating airlift units performed airpower operations from austere environments during the Pacific Air Forces Landing Zone Operations Course at Lejima, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 19, 2026.

The course is a two-week course designed to build mission-ready Airmen who can establish, secure, and operate in contested environments. This iteration served as the official course validation from the Air Force Special Operations Command, authorizing multiple installations across PACAF to host and scale contingent airlift capabilities throughout the theater.

"We aren’t just teaching technical skills," said Master Sgt. Benjamin Stewart, 374th Operations Support Squadron PACAF LZ Operations Course instructor. "We are building joint relationships and empowering our non-commissioned officers to make command-level decisions on the ground. The validation of this course means we can now scale this combat capability across the Indo-Pacific theater, ensuring our forces remain agile, lethal, and ready."

The course integrated several flying commands, including the 36th Airlift Squadron, the 374th OSS, the 353rd Special Operations Wing, and the U.S. Marine Corps’ III Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 153.

The training balanced classroom instruction with realistic, hands-on field applications while encouraging creative problem-solving and team building needed for operating outside of traditional air base environments.

The training culminated with a C-130J Super Hercules assigned to the 36th AS, Yokota Air Base, Japan, successfully executing tactical landings on the island’s undeveloped landing strip.

"The job requires much more than knowing how to assess and operate a landing zone," said Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Garcia, 374th OSS landing zone safety officer and instructor. "It requires making informed, real-time decisions when conditions change. Our instructor team is confident these students are prepared to do exactly that and safely enable airpower wherever the mission requires it."