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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) held its large-scale annual “CULEX,” or culminating training exercise, on Thursday, giving cadets a realistic look at a combat scenario.

The 24-hour-a-day exercise places nearly 4,000 cadets in a mock war setting, where upperclassmen lead complex missions and younger students follow orders. This year, it runs April 15–16. 

The Air Force Academy is 18,500 acres, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, but on Thursday, the culminating exercise scenario transformed USAFA into Hokkaido, a Japanese island under attack by enemy forces.

“We’ve pretty much taken over the entirety of USAFA, to allow all 4,000 of our cadets to have space to operate throughout the exercise,” said CULEX director Col. Jennifer Hall.

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In the war scenario, Japan has asked the U.S. to come in as a defensive force. 

“In this scenario, we have four established airfields,” Hall said. “And so that’s what’s established, the four joint operating areas that we have them in.”

Each joint operation area, or JOA, has around 800 cadets, defending an airfield, two high-value assets and a downed airman. Cadets also face real-world issues such as injured officers and invasions by enemy targets deemed the “Red Force.”

“We pulled out one squadron to play Red Force,” said Hall. “So our cadets are actually playing Red Force, and they’re out there in the field right now harassing our cadets. They’re doing an amazing job. They’re super excited.”

Hall explained, “What we’re trying to do is have the cadets prioritize through decision-making. And you’ll see all across that Red Force is trying to complicate that to the best of their ability.”

While the situation may not be real, it definitely looks and feels like it.

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“You’ll see about 15 tents laid down as an austere, expeditionary environment, two of which are tactical operations centers and a medical tent and warming tent,” Hall explained. “And then we have sleeping tents for the cadets, because we will be remaining overnight for the first time.”

Some cadets fly airplanes while others deploy parachutes in the sky. On the ground, hundreds of cadets equipped with air soft guns defend their camps, taking radio traffic from troops under attack. Meanwhile, students in mission control use drones and mapping technology to solve real-world problems.

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“The only way to prepare for the fight that we’re in, or the future fight, is to develop the training necessary where they can experience it real time, in the woods, in the field,” said Hall.

Now in its second year, the CULEX focuses on building confidence, teamwork and leadership skills rather than testing cadets with a pass-or-fail system. It’s a multi-domain tactical exercise designed to replicate the environments future Space Force and Air Force officers may encounter.

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“For our seniors, in 44 days, they’re going to graduate, and they’re going to go off, and they’re going to be officers in our Space Force and Air Force— how much more equipped they’re going to be to lead, to face complicated problems, to know that they can do what’s difficult,” said Hall. 

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NEW: You can now listen to Fox News stories!Eri Otoniel Roberto Perez, a Mexican illegal immigrant, was accused of killing two boys, Dereon Robinson, 12, and Mikhail Lee Smith, 9 while they were riding their bicycles on a sidewalk. Megan, Dereon’s mother, told the judge that she ran to her son as he bled. One of Dereon’s brothers said: “Now I have bury my brother who looked up at me on his birthday.” “ICE ARRESTS A LATIN KINGS MEMBERS AFTER NYC SANCTUARY RELOCATION DESPITE ASSAULT CLAIM ON FIRST RESPONDERDHS confirms Perez entered the United States illegally at a date and time unknown. “This criminal illegal alien was not allowed to be in the United States, and two boys died because he drove under the influence,” said DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. She continued, “Dereon and Mikhail Lee Smith should be here with us today.” “Our prayers go out to the families of Dereon Robinson and Mikhail Lee Smith. “CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPPerez has been held at the Spartanburg County Detention Center, and his bond has been denied.

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A swarm of 1 million bees shut down part of a highway for hours as authorities quickly moved to address the situation.

Around 11 a.m. Friday, a pickup truck transporting the bees crashed on Interstate 40 in Knoxville, Tennessee, heading toward the Henley Street exit and unleashing the bees, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).

Authorities did not say how many hives were being transported, but large-scale bee shipments are commonly used by commercial beekeepers to support agriculture and pollination efforts across the country.

Drivers stuck near the crash were told to stay inside their cars as bees filled the air around the highway ramp. Beekeepers in protective suits worked alongside crews to regain control of the swarm, which had clustered around the wreckage and nearby roadway.

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Mark Nagi, a spokesperson for TDOT, provided a series of updates on X.

“The ramp from I-40 East to Henley Street is currently closed,” his first post began. “A truck carrying a load of bees crashed, and now the bees have escaped and are swarming the area.”

The affected part of the highway later reopened as the truck driver and beekeepers worked to contain the swarm.

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“The ramp from I-40 East to Henley Street is back open, but the truck is destroyed, and the bees are … well … buzzing,” one of Nagi’s follow-up posts said. 

“Unless you are dressed in this outfit please stay in your vehicles in this area,” Nagi added alongside a photo of man in a beekeeper’s outfit.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Nagi confirmed there were no injuries reported as a result of the crash.

“Fortunately, there were no injuries. The truck was removed, and the bees were safely moved out of the area,” he wrote.

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Similar incidents involving escaped bees have occurred in the past, including a crash involving a semitrailer that released millions of bees onto an interstate in Utah, underscoring the risks tied to transporting large numbers of hives.

Officials did not say what caused the crash but said the bees were eventually contained and removed, bringing an unusual highway shutdown to an end.

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The daughter of the American woman missing in the Bahamas says she thinks Brian Hooker is using his mother’s illness as an “excuse” to leave the island nation after he spent five days in a Freeport jail.

Karli Aylesworth told Fox News Digital on Friday that Hooker’s mother has been “terminally ill for a while.” Hooker abruptly left the Bahamas Wednesday after saying he would remain in the country to search for his missing wife, Aylesworth’s mother, Lynette.

He was released from a Bahamian jail Monday night after five days behind bars and made that promise in interviews with news outlets on Tuesday morning.

Aylesworth told NBC on Friday that she “never imagined” her mom would disappear, adding that “she was a great person and didn’t deserve this.” She said part of her feels like her stepdad is “going to get away with this” and walk away a free man, but “I hope that doesn’t happen.”

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Hooker has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

Hooker’s attorney, Terrel Butler, told Fox News Digital Tuesday that he “wants to continue with the search for his wife because that is his main focus So, as long as he can remain in the Bahamas, he’ll remain in the Bahamas.”

But about 24 hours later, Hooker changed his mind.

“Following his release from custody without charge, Mr. Hooker is now facing another emergency. In addition to the trauma of his wife of 25 years being missing, Mr. Hooker has received urgent word of his mother’s grave illness,” Butler told NBC News Wednesday afternoon. 

“He has traveled to [the] United States of America to be at her bedside during this critical time.”

Butler did not say where in the U.S. Hooker was going, but a source familiar with the case told Fox News Digital he landed in Atlanta.

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Aylesworth, who arrived in the Bahamas Thursday, has been critical of her stepfather since her mother Lynette went missing.

“I think it shows his character. He somehow lost my mom at sea and cries on camera saying he’ll never stop searching, then leaves the next day,” Aylesworth told the New York Post upon her arrival in the town of Marsh Harbour, close to where her mother went missing.

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Hooker abandoned the couple’s 40-foot sailboat, “Soulmate,” anchored near a marina in Marsh Harbour.

The New York Post snapped close-up photos of the idle boat.

Immediately after Lynette’s disappearance, Aylesworth told Fox News Digital she was aware of “prior issues” with Brian’s behavior.

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“There have been prior issues brought to my attention, which may be important for any thorough investigation. If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it,” Aylesworth said. “However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”

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She also told “Fox and Friends” that something “doesn’t add up” with her mother’s disappearance, and accused Brian of having a “history of domestic violence” and anger issues.

Hooker says Lynette’s disappearance was an accident caused by high wind and rough seas. The pair left The Abaco Inn bar on Elbow Cay in their dinghy at dusk on April 4, headed to their anchored sailboat just off the cay’s western coast. The ride was a short one, but Brian said Lynette fell overboard in the choppy waters.

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He has always maintained that he is innocent of wrongdoing, and has not been charged with a crime.

He spent five days in jail — the maximum allowable under Bahamian law — while police investigated. That investigation remains ongoing despite his release.