Associated Press - November 20, 2009 8:04 AM ET

MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (AP) - U.S. Air Force officials and representatives of the Republic of Singapore marked their cooperation in the Idaho desert, where the Asian nation's pilots train at the Mountain Home Air Force base in their F-15 fighter jets.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said during a ceremony Thursday, "This is the latest step in a long and fruitful relationship between the two militaries."

Personnel from Singapore began arriving in Idaho just over a year ago, to take advantage of the desert training range near the Snake River and the state's spacious skies - something they don't have in their crowded air space at home.

KTVB-TV reported Deputy Prime Minister Chee Hean Teo told the crowd that about 250 active duty personnel and their families from the small island country - a former British trading colony - felt at home, far from home.

Information from: KTVB-TV, http://www.ktvb.com/

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