MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- Airmen assigned to the 184th Wing, Kansas Air National Guard, tested their preparedness to operate in a contested environment during Exercise Bamboo Eagle 25-3, Aug. 2-8, 2025. Bamboo Eagle is a large-scale exercise that enables participants from multiple major commands, the joint force, and allied air forces a chance to refine their abilities when operating in a dynamic environment against a peer adversary.
The 184th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group was responsible for providing real-time intelligence updates to multiple organizations throughout Bamboo Eagle which enhanced operational effectiveness of allied partners.
Participating in exercises allows Airmen to identify, address, and fix critical gaps in operations, and ultimately increase their lethality and effectiveness.
“In preparing for the great power competition, Bamboo Eagle provides invaluable opportunities to train against sophisticated scenarios, refine strategies for modern warfare, and enhance interoperability with allied forced,” stated the Kansas team lead for Bamboo Eagle. “The exercise tests operational continuity in contested environments and strengthens our ability to maintain intelligence operations across various conditions.”
From exercise planning to real-time execution, Bamboo Eagle also stressed the importance of ensuring Airmen in the 184th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group are prepared for a demanding operational tempo.
“We know we can’t just grind our people for 10 days straight, 12 hours a day. Getting that practice and making sure we’re presenting a resilient force is so critical, should the flag ever go up,” stated Capt. Alexander Bush, flight commander, 184th ISRG.
Each iteration of Bamboo Eagle provides tangible evidence of the team’s improvements.
“Compared to last year, we were able to see some of the growth points, and some of them are staggering,’ said Bush. “It’s not just us improving, but also our partners. Observers from [Air Combat Command] were also talking about the growth they saw.”
The Kansas team lead also highlighted the improvements they witnessed and why participating in Bamboo Eagle is so critical.
“This exercise not only advances individual skill sets but reinforces the collective capability of our teams, ensuring we remain mission-ready for the evolving challenges of modern warfare.”
Beyond individual and unit-level improvements, Bamboo Eagle allowed 184th Airmen to create valuable new partnerships throughout our force.
2nd Lt. James Epley, officer in charge, 184th ISRG, shared insight into how these relationships form during an exercise.
“You have a customer that you’re aiming to satisfy the needs of, but when someone comes out of the woodwork that you had no idea was accessing the information you were putting out, and you get a phone call on a weekday [saying], ‘we saw what you were doing at this exercise and we want to talk,’ those relationships continue to build, and we all get better together,” said Epley.
These new and strengthened relationships increase critical collaboration and information sharing, creating a more cohesive and effective warfighting force from crisis to contingency operations.
Exercises like Bamboo Eagle showcase how the 184th Wing is reoptimizing for great power competition and a more agile and lethal force.
“We embrace challenges as learning opportunities, ensuring lessons from each iteration of the exercise shape future mission success,” concluded the Kansas team lead.