Airman deploy to Kabul in latest exercise

  • Published
  • By Josh Aycock
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The base's latest exercise, held here Jan. 12-14, simulated deployment of 140 base Airmen to Kabul, Afghanistan. 

Operational Readiness Exercises train and evaluate Airmen's basic combat readiness skills, according to Lt. Col. Scott Katz, base director of readiness exercises. 

Airmen from the 88th Air Base Wing, Aeronautical Systems Center, Air Force Material Command and Air Force Research Laboratory took part in the base mobility exercise. The exercise, based on a fictional scenario, tested the base's ability to deploy a mass number of Airmen and supplies to a U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in a wartime environment. 

"Wright-Patterson does a great job deploying well trained Airmen nearly every day," said Katz. "The time invested in properly training our Airmen is essential to how well they can perform their mission in a combat environment." 

Airmen experienced firsthand the process of mass deployment throughout the day. They began the day with a visit to the base's mobility bag warehouse. Arriving by bus in groups, or "chalks," the Airmen checked the inventory of 56 pounds of equipment in their personalized A and C-bags. 

"A-bags" consist of general purpose items such as a helmet, first aid kit, poncho, sleep system and mess kits; while "C-bags" consist of chemical protective gear. A third bag, the "B-bag," was also issued and contains cold-weather items such as a parka, mittens, wool socks and mukluks, according to Ed Honore, Base Supply Mobility Section's lead technician. 

"We constantly do inventories of these bags to ensure the shelf life of everything in it," said Gerald Marwick, base supply manager. "These aren't one size fits all so it is important that every person really checks their bags." 

After checking the contents of their bags, the Airmen were cleared to get back on the bus and continued to the Personnel Deployment Function. Here every Airman went through a final processing line to ensure their paperwork was in order and that they were capable of deployment. 

According to Capt. Kristi Gana, commander of the Military Personnel Flight, the exercise will give Airmen a foundation on what documents are important for their deployment and ensure their families are adequately taken care of in their absence. 

After processing they continued to a holding area where they received a final set of briefings before loading onto the bus a final time. The bus took the Airmen to a parking spot, simulating either a civilian or military aircraft, which in the "real world" would transport them to their overseas destination. 

"The idea is to make this experience as close as we can to what it is actually like to serve in combat," said Katz. 

With the mobility exercise complete, the Airmen began preparation for the field exercise which was conducted on Jan. 14 at the Warfighter Training Center here. The exercise was the first cold-weather exercise this year testing the Airmen's ability to operate in a forward deployed environment, exercise organizers said.