Exercise will test base's incident response

  • Published
  • By Col. GI Tuck
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing vice commander
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Another busy week as we once again showcased why Team Travis is "America's First Choice." As we continued to prepare for our upcoming Unit Compliance Inspection, Logistics Standardization and Evaluation Programs Inspection, Safety Program Evaluation, Emergency Management Exercise and Air Force-level Hennessey Award evaluation, we were honored to host President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa of Mexico, welcomed Vice Admiral Charles Wurster, Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Coast Guard Defense Forces West and Command Master Chief Kevin Isherwood at our Airmen Leadership School Graduation, and recognized Team Travis' best during a quarterly award winners' luncheon hosted by Mr. Bert Gaulke and the Travis Regional Armed Forces Committee.

We remain busy with our high Operations tempo and yet you made these important events possible by taking the initiative - I am very proud to be part of this incredibly BIG, PROUD and STRONG team!

Next Thursday, Travis will test its emergency management response capability by exercising our Incident Command structure, Emergency Operations Center and our Installation Control Center as first responders prepare, respond and recover from different base-wide scenarios. Installation and tenant organizations' active duty and civilian personnel will actively participate in responding to different scenarios, which will include periods of force protection condition changes and sheltering in place.

This exercise could significantly impact Travis' arriving and departing automobile traffic as well as potential traffic rerouting on the base. Also, medical, dental and other base appointments could take much longer during Thursday's exercise period. Many Services facilities such as the Fitness Center, billeting, dining facility and bowling alley to name a few will be impacted as well. We encourage those of you who have business to conduct on Travis during next Thursday's exercise to reschedule for a later date to avoid being inconvenienced.

Special thanks to Mr. Ray Crowell, Capt. Michael Shirley, Maj. Jay Donelson, Staff Sgt. David Lopez, Mr. Carl Reisdorf, Ms. Kim Crowell and Capt. Leslie Weitershausen and her Protocol team for their excellent support of President Calderon and his Cabinet. Mexican Consul Gen. Carlos Felix expressed his sincere gratitude and explained because of Team Travis' efforts, President Calderon was able to execute his entire northern California itinerary. The use of Travis as the President's point of departure significantly expedited his travel to a follow-on engagement in Los Angeles.

Finally, as we approach President's Day, we enter into another three-day holiday weekend. Please take advantage of some well deserved time off with friends and family if you can. If you are traveling to take advantage of the Bay Area or the mountains, or just simply out and about, please have a good plan and stick to it. If your plans unravel, please have a good back up and call a wingman if you get stuck or need help. We want you all back in one piece - please safely enjoy this weekend and thank you very much for all you do to make our Air Force better and our country safer and stronger.