How many personnel were involved in Operation Maple Flag?

• A. 200 personnel
• B. 120 personnel
• C. 80 personnel
• D. 300 personnel

Answer: (B)

Maple Flag is run as a lean, focused air exercise that still covers the essential roles needed for realistic operations, including pilots, air controllers, maintenance crews, and mission support staff. About 120 personnel are involved, which provides enough manpower to plan, execute, and wrap up sorties, coordinate airspace, and sustain the operation without overloading the exercise with resources.

If you imagine too few people—around 80—it becomes hard to cover all the required functions, such as flight operations, maintenance, and control, while still allowing for safety and debriefs. On the other hand, numbers near 200 or 300 would indicate a much larger scale than Maple Flag typically requires, adding complexity and logistics that the exercise is not designed to handle. So 120 hits the right balance for a realistic, manageable Maple Flag footprint.