Over the South Pacific a US Air Force (USAF) Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, 941st AWACS prepares to make contact with a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker, 909th Air Refueling Squadron (ARS), Kadena Air Base (AB), Okinawa. The aircraft are participating in the joint Exercise TANDEM THRUST 03, a joint exercise conducted in the Marianas Islands to include Guam and Tinian. The exercise is a joint endeavor to include forces from the US, Canada, and Australia