B-52s flying directly from the United States, an extremely visible demonstration of the U.S. commitment to its allies, have been a prominent feature of recent exercises from Spain to South Korea. Their latest appearance was over the Baltic Sea Aug. 1.

A B-52H of the 2nd Bomb Wing flew non-stop from Barksdale Air Force base, Louisiana to the North and Baltic seas as part of Exercise Polar Roar, which also included B-52Hs of the 5th Bomb Wing from Minot Air Force base, North Dakota, flying around the North Pole over Alaska and B-2s of the 509th Bomb Wing from Whiteman Air Force base, Missouri, over the Pacific Ocean to the Aleutian Islands.

NATO's Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in Ramstein, southwestern Germany, with its Combined Air Operations Center in Uedem, in the north of the country, used the opportunity to practice intercepting the 2nd Bomb Wing B-52, with scrambles by Royal Danish Air Force F-16s, British Royal Air Force Typhoons and Swedish Air Force JAS Gripens. Command and control of these national air assets was provided by NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force E-3 airborne warning and control aircraft (AWACS).

I witnessed two Barksdale-based B-52Hs flying low over the San Gregorio training area in Spain Nov. 4 during NATO's Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 and it is an impressive sight indeed!