Travis ready for any emergency

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Lindsey Hahn
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 60th and 349th Air Mobility Wings exercised their deployment process during Exercise Crisis Look 07-02 March 28 to 30. 

Approximately 1,500 participants, exercise evaluation team members and support personnel were involved in the around-the-clock exercise.
"Overall the exercise was very successful," said Mr. Dan Johnson, EET chief. "A lot of training was completed in all of the functional areas involved." 

In the first large-scale deployment exercise since July 2005, the participants exercised under a humanitarian scenario where flooding and massive loss of life was occurring in Southeast Asia. The base was tasked to generate several aircraft to prepare for an upcoming humanitarian mission. 

More than 500 people and hundreds of short tons of cargo were processed during the 3-day exercise. 

"The Personnel Deployment Function line processed more than 500 individuals in a two and a half day span," said Maj. Robert Jackson, 60th Military Personnel Flight commander. "This was accomplished through a joint effort of the 60th AMW's entire personnel community and key players from the 60th Comptroller Squadron, Airmen and Family Readiness Center, Immunizations, Public Health, Judge Advocate, Chaplain, Intelligence, Sexual Assault Awareness Coordinator and Deployment Control Center. The Personnel Readiness Function ensured tasked individuals were validated for deployment and prepared orders for all 500 tasked members. Overall, the PDF and PRF showed tremendous teamwork and initiative to ensure mobility processing was effectively accomplished." 

The Cargo Deployment Line was also busy.
"The overall operation went well," said Master Sgt. Richard Ratzer, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the CDF. "The units were at the pre-assembly area at the required time and for the most part the cargo was ready to go. The CDF personnel were working the operation for the first time in many cases and did very well. Many of the marshallers and in-checkers came from TMO and this was their first exposure to deployment operations. They were quick to learn the operation and by the end of the exercise are well prepared for future CDF operations." 

"Many lessons were learned throughout this exercise," said Mr. Johnson. "However, Team Travis proved again that when the troops are called on to do something, they do it, no matter what the circumstances." 

While exercises can be cumbersome on our day-to-day operations, Mr. Johnson reminds everyone that this is what the military is all about.
"We appreciate the patience of all the non-participants across the base. We realize that these exercises hinder our customer service," said Mr. Johnson. "With that said, this is what we are here for, to be ready to go anywhere the world need us at a moment's notice." 

Overall, the Travis leadership was impressed. 

"Hundreds of people put forth a tremendous effort in the preparation and execution of this exercise and it certainly paid big dividends," said Col. Steve Arquiette, 60th AMW commander. "The exercise highlighted many processes that will benefit from our continual process improvement effort, but that doesn't take away from the outstanding job everyone did, including the participants and our EET members."
This exercise, along with several others planned in the next several months, is meant to prepare the base for an upcoming ORI as well as real-world contingencies.