TRAVIS
AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – The 60th Air Mobility Wing wrapped up a
week-long exercise February 2 that evaluated how Travis Air Force Base,
California, executes base readiness and sustains rapid global mobility.
“The vision for the exercise
was to validate readiness, identify any organize, train and equip requirements,
develop tactics, techniques and procedures and highlight any wartime
deficiencies to be corrected,” said Maj. Grant “NIKE” Behning, 60th Air
Mobility Wing director of tactics. “We designed the exercise to maximize exposure
to a chemical biological radiological nuclear environment while also validating
our capabilities.”
Squadrons from across the base
were called upon to evaluate their readiness by operating in alarm red Mission-
Oriented Protective Posture while accomplishing the mission such as, removing
ice from an aircraft, protecting a vehicle from incoming attacks, C-5M Super
Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and KC-10 Stratotanker aircraft operations and
medical evacuation drills.
“Today’s strategic environment
requires that we operate at the pinnacle of readiness,” said Col. John Klein, 60th
AMW commander. “Generating exercises like this allows us to enhance and fine
tune our readiness, which is important for executing today’s mission while also
investing in tomorrow.”
The exercise provided learning
experiences for all Travis Airmen. Airmen who were not selected for the
exercise still played a part. Units were still expected to accomplish the
mission while some of their Airmen participated in the exercise.
“Travis’ ability to perform
our daily mission and exceed down-range simulation procedures ensures our
readiness,” said Chief Master Sgt. Steve Nichols, 60th AMW command chief. “All
Airmen at Travis were involved and participated in some way during the
exercise. This exercise was not easy. However, the professionalism and
readiness Travis Airmen demonstrated inspires me to serve with this amazing
team.”
There are many factors when
exercises like these take place. This exercise gave Travis leadership feedback
on where Travis needs improvement, but also where Travis performed well.
“It has been approximately
five years since Travis has had a similar exercise,” said Nichols. “Our Airmen
performed well, but still, as expected, faced challenges. Seeing how Airmen
learned from their mistakes proved their competence and allegiance moving
forward with the mission.”
Developing a scenario which is
realistic and challenging needed to be focused around operating in austere
environments with dynamic challenges, said Behning.
“Future exercises will be more
robust in nature, but the focus remains the same: full spectrum readiness,”
said Behning. “We will continue to push the edge of our capabilities.”
Travis will engage with future
exercises where Airmen take on new challenges. Travis will adapt to whichever
obstacle presents itself.
“Attitudes were phenomenal,”
said Klein. “A lot of lessons were learned both in how we put the exercise
together and how we executed it. Next time, we will raise our game more.”