ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AIR FORCE BASE EDINBURGH, Australia -- It started over a pint in 2019. A U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from the 55th Wing and a Royal Australian Air Force sergeant from No. 10 Squadron sat across from each other at a local pub after a long day of flying operations. As they discussed their shared missions and growing trust between their units, a question came up: Why isn’t the Rivet Joint part of Talisman Sabre?
That question would go on to change the future of joint ISR integration in the Indo-Pacific.
The two enlisted aviators imagined a future where the 55th Wing’s RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, the premier signals intelligence platform, could train side by side with Australian and coalition partners in Australia’s largest multinational defense exercise. With that seed planted, they brought the idea to a then U.S. Air Force captain, newly graduated from the prestigious U.S. Air Force Weapons School. The vision became a plan.
“It started with a casual conversation,” said the now Tech. Sgt. “We both knew what the Rivet Joint could bring to the fight. The idea wasn’t about pushing boundaries, it was about closing a gap in our training. We believed our allies needed to integrate with our capabilities now, not later.”
“Back then, I was just a sergeant flying with 10 Squadron,” said the now RAAF Flight Sgt. “We’d worked with the Rivet Joint before, but only on the fringes. I remember saying, ‘If we’re going to be partners in the fight, we need to train like it.’ And that started everything.”
With support from their units and growing buy-in, the U.S. Air Force captain, now a major, armed with the tactics, training and operational vision of a weapons officer, took their grassroots concept and began championing it across commands.
“When I heard the idea, I knew they were right,” said the Maj. “We talk a lot about integration and joint readiness, but this was a practical way to make it real. It wasn’t about proving a point, it was about improving the fight.”
Together, the trio shaped a concept of operations that emphasized intelligence integration, interoperability and the need to bring high-demand ISR platforms into the joint warfighting framework. Over the next several years, they coordinated with Pacific Air Forces, Air Combat Command and even Department of Defense planners, arguing that ISR should not be on the periphery of multinational training but at the heart of it.
What followed was a sustained campaign of coordination and advocacy that spanned continents. In the years leading up to 2025, the 55th Wing conducted five planning trips to Australia while RAAF teams visited Offutt Air Force Base twice. Their collaboration accounted for hundreds of hours of operational planning, security coordination and scenario development. By Talisman Sabre 2023, that groundwork was already bearing fruit; three 55th Wing mission crew members flew with No. 10 Squadron during early integration flights, marking the first step in operationalizing the vision.
Their determination paved the way for Talon Shield and full integration into Talisman Sabre, designed specifically to employ the Rivet Joint and other airborne C2ISR platforms into contested, distributed environments across the Indo-Pacific.
In 2025, that vision became reality.
For the first time, the 55th Wing’s RC-135V/W Rivet Joint operated in Australia as a fully integrated component of a coalition-led exercise. Nearly 200 Airmen from three U.S. Air Force wings, the 55th Wing, the 319th Reconnaissance Wing and the 552nd Air Control Wing, executing missions across three Australian locations, delivering advanced ISR, battle management and interoperability at scale.
“When that jet landed, and we saw our patch alongside the RAAF’s on the flight line, it made it real,” said the Tech. Sgt. “From a conversation over a pint to a coalition-led mission; it showed what happens when you believe in the mission enough to speak up.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think the idea would grow legs,” said the Flight Sgt. “But the more we pushed, the more people listened. Seeing our teams fly together now, that’s what partnership looks like.”
“This was never about rank or recognition,” the Maj. added. “This was about the mission. It was about ensuring that our Airmen, and our allies, are prepared to fight and win together.”
Talon Shield and Talisman Sabre 2025 stand as a powerful reminder that some of our greatest achievements begin with the bold ideas of those in our junior ranks. This success story proves that every voice matters and when empowered, those voices can shape strategy, influence policy, and deliver operational outcomes once thought out of reach. Trusting the insight and initiative of our Airmen and allies, regardless of rank, isn't just the right thing to do — it's how we win.
Relentless & Ready.