615th Contingency Operational Support Group wing stands up

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Mark MacDonald and 1st Lt. Rodney Silva
  • 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The 615th Contingency Response Wing held a wing stand up for the 615th Contingency Operational Support Group Monday at Bldg. P-1. 

Col. Joey Eisenhut, formerly the deputy commander of the 715th Air Mobility Operations Group, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, will command the new group. 

The stand up of the 615th COSG marks a new stage in the development of the 615th CRW, and is occurring just two years after the wing was first established under the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force to provide a ready core of elite air mobility forces to establish, expand and sustain global air mobility at both the operational and tactical level of operations. 

The new group will be comprised of the 573rd Global Support Squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. James Jacobson, and the 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron, commanded by Lt. Col. J. William DeMarco. These two squadrons bring vastly different skill sets to the 615th COSG, however they share the ability to support expeditionary operations and provide mobility solutions to the combatant commander. 

The 573rd GSS provides support functions for the 615th CRW's three contingency response groups. The GSS also rapidly deploys scalable command and control, maintenance and aerial transport teams that specialize in the "open the air base" mission. 

These teams often deploy to austere locations and are tasked to provide expeditionary logistics when the footprint of a full CRG is not necessary or feasible. In addition, the GSS specializes in affiliation training, instructing Army, Navy and Marine Corps forces on the correct procedures for preparing cargo to load onto Air Force aircraft. 

Every day, 573rd GSS personnel are either prepping the 615th CRW for action, or on the road ensuring the global reach of Air Mobility Command. 

The 15th AMOS is a new addition to the 615th CRW with the stand-up of the 615th COSG. Previously, the AMOS reported directly to the 15th EMTF. Known as the "Masterminds," the 15th AMOS is comprised of 31 different occupational specialties that combine to provide leadership, strategy, planning, command and control and communications expertise to the Air Mobility Division within an Air and Space Operations Center. They are the executors of theater air mobility at the operational level of war.
Squadron members regularly deploy in support of contingencies such as Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Unified Assistance (tsunami relief). In addition, the 15th AMOS provides its expertise to major Joint Chief of Staff-level exercises such as Ulchi Focus Lens and Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, as well as Terminal Fury at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. 

The combination of the diverse missions of the 573rd GSS and 15th AMOS promises to make the 615th COSG one of the most dynamic groups in the 615th CRW and on Travis. In fact, the new 615th COSG will build upon the synergistic relationship already formed between the 573rd GSS and 15th AMOS. The 573rd GSS experts versed in contingency response group operations regularly deploy with the 15th AMOS during exercises to provide CRG command and control within the Air and Space Operations Center. As the AMOS personnel ensure theater mobility missions are planned and executed to meet the combatant commander's objectives, the GSS personnel ensure the commander's expeditionary airfield vision is achieved. 

"AMC continues to look for initiatives to gain efficiencies and velocity to improve mission accomplishment," said Col. Joey Eisenhut, 615th Contingency Operations Support Group commander. "This activation is another step in that direction."
As the new group guidon unfurled, the men and women of the 615th COSG stopped and gathered to commemorate the occasion. However, they didn't stay too long. Soon thereafter, they returned to their global mission of providing mobility solutions whenever and wherever needed.