Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) pilots, weapon systems officers and engineers have been doing advanced training on F-15SG fighter jets for the past 10 years in the United States.
At the same time, the more than 370 airmen of the Peace Carvin V (PC V) detachment and their families have made the city of Mountain Home in Idaho their second home, participating in events such as the annual air force appreciation day parade and charity projects.
Lieutenant-Colonel Oon Kok Choon, commander of the permanent training detachment, said: "Integration into this... whole community, in my opinion, is seamless."
"What we do is that even before any family comes to the US, our officers already reach out to them back in Singapore, to find out how many are coming, how many children and their ages," he told reporters ahead of PC V's 10th anniversary celebrations on Thursday.
The detachment marked its 10th anniversary with a parade at the air force base. Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How, who officiated the event, unveiled an F-15SG commemorative tail flash to mark the occasion.
The event was hosted by the commander of the RSAF Air Combat Command, Brigadier-General Ho Kum Luen, and attended by about 450 people, including Chief of Air Force, Major-General Kelvin Khong, Mountain Home Mayor Rich Sykes and family members of the PC V detachment.
Mr Heng said PC V was set up in 2009 to rapidly operationalise the F-15SG fighter fleet. He added: "It has been the anchor of the RSAF's F-15SG programme, where we validate our war fighting doctrines, and qualify a steady flow of F-15SG pilots, weapon systems officers, and instructors."
Mr Heng hailed the detachment as an exemplar of the strong relationship between Singapore and the US: "The confluence of our countries' strategic interests and the mutual commitment to military-to-military interactions has enabled us to develop our defence ties to be strong and excellent."
Other than PC V, the RSAF also conducts training in Arizona at the PC II detachment with the F-16C/D fighter aircraft in Luke Air Force Base, and the Peace Vanguard detachment with the AH-64D Apache helicopter in Marana.
Among the community events the detachment participates in is the annual Air Force Appreciation Day in September, which includes a parade similar to Singapore's Chingay event, said LTC Oon, 41, who has been deployed in the US for almost three years.
The detachment has also raised funds to provide three local schools with supplies.
Colonel Richard Goodman, 366th Fighter Wing Commander at Mountain Home Air Force Base, said the Singapore and US forces shared a great partnership. "We exercise together, we fly together, we work on interoperability of our forces, and we learn from each other," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Heng thanked Idaho Senator James Risch for the US' strong support for the Singapore Armed Forces' training in Idaho.
