615 CRW Airmen tame the Eager Lion

  • Published
  • By Col. Mitchell Monroe
  • 571st Contingency Response Group commander
HASHEMITE KINGDON, JORDAN --  The Jordanian wing commander was not happy with me. As I sat in the colonel's office, getting chastised over something for which I had no control and no responsibility, it hit me. I've been here before. The scenario from the recent "Eagle Flag" exercise popped into my head. The memory of "Colonel Jaffar" from the fictitious "Kingdom of Nessor" came flooding back and I remembered a very similar engagement.

Drawing upon the lessons learned during the exercise Eagle Flag, I discussed the issue with my Royal Jordanian air force host and sought a solution whereby we both could succeed. In hindsight, Jaffar was far tougher and I don't remember making him happy very often. The value of the realistic training the members of my contingency response group and I received from the 421st Combat Training Squadron, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, proved to be invaluable.

In mid-April, about 40 members of the 615th Contingency Response Wing, Travis AFB, Calif., deployed to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for the U.S. Central Command Exercise Eager Lion 12. Since then, the two contingency response teams have labored long in the desert sun working aircraft, moving cargo and shuttling passengers. The whole time, they've been building partnerships with sister services, other governmental agencies and our Jordanian allies.

Meanwhile, my eight-member assessment team has had the pleasure of surveying military air bases and even a commando helicopter landing zone all over this kingdom. We've traveled nearly the length and breadth of Jordan and seen some incredible sights. Who knew wild camels still roamed the desert?

Thinking about 'realistic training' brought back a comment a sergeant major once said to me. When discussing whether or not our team was ready, he answered definitively, no. Being proud of our readiness, I remember being stung by his comment. This hardened combat veteran then clarified, "I've never once found myself entering into a fight thinking, 'Boy, I'm about as trained as I could possibly be." We quickly understood we could always be better prepared and our training needed to be as realistic as possible in order to get us ready.

While we've been fortunate to have this experience, it has been enjoyable largely because we were ready for the challenges presented to us. The realistic training we've received leading up to this moment has prepared us all well, and it has showed. The kudos and compliments have flowed nonstop and the contingency response warriors have earned every one of them.
In typical expeditionary Airmen fashion, the biggest compliment and the strongest source of pride are in a job well done and completing the mission. Thanks to our realistic training, we've answered the call and we're ready for whatever else this deployment is going to throw at us.

When presented with an opportunity for training, take full advantage of it. Treat the scenario like it is real and the real thing just may not be as hard. More so, if you're ever given the responsibility of creating a training event, make every effort to make it real.