News>445th Airlift Wing hones ORI skills at Volk Field
Photos
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Tech. Sgt. Brent Pemberton, 445th Airlift Wing orderly room, and Master Sgt. Cindy Hall, 445th Airlift Wing Judge Advocate office, demonstrate team work while hydrating during the operational readiness exercise at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wis., April 25. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Jose Cardenas)
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – More than 100 445th Airlift Wing reservists participated in a four-day exercise at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wis., that began April 22 to prepare for the unit’s upcoming operational readiness inspection. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Jose Cardenas)
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – Senior Master Sgt. Gregory McWhorter, 445th Civil Engineer Squadron emergency management craftsman, and Lt. Col Michael Brandenburg, 445th Mission Support Group deputy group commander, work as a team during the operational readiness exercise at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wis., April 25. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Jose Cardenas)
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – More than 100 445th Airlift Wing reservists participated in a four-day exercise at Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wis., that began April 22 to prepare for the unit’s upcoming operational readiness inspection. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Jose Cardenas)
by Lt. Col. Cynthia Harris
445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
5/8/2012 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- About 100 reservists from the 445th Airlift Wing here boarded a C-17 Globemaster III bound for Volk Field Air National Guard Base, Wis. April 22 to prepare for the unit's upcoming operational readiness inspection.
The group used the four-day exercise at Volk Field to hone their skills in responding to attacks, bugging out, transferring control, relocating and reassuming control in conventional and chemical environments. Reservists from the 452nd Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., joined them in the training.
Master Sgt. Walter Bennett, 445th Security Forces Squadron plans and programs manager, emphasized the need to streamline and standardize procedures for making concise decisions.
"This exercise gave us the opportunity to operate and streamline our processes," he said. "These are natural growing pains. If we don't do the exercise under some form of stress, we won't see what is good and what needs to be improved, and fix it before the ORI. "
The objectives of the exercise were to establish and maintain effective command and control between all control centers in the primary and alternate locations and attain proficiency in all shelter and population-at-risk team actions under all mission oriented protective posture conditions.
To ensure their Airmen are ready to perform during the inspection, NCOs pushed the younger Airmen to take action because the Airmen are not familiar with the process and therefore are unsure of what to do. That indecision may cause the Airmen to take no action. The purpose of these exercises is to make them more comfortable with the tasks they will be expected to perform during the ORI.
The trip to Volk Field proved to be a success, according to Col. Stephen Goeman, 445th Airlift Wing commander.
"The outstanding attitude and effort of everyone involved made this a successful exercise," he said. "As we prepare for September, we need to come to work with the right attitude. The right attitude is 90 percent of the getting the mission accomplished."
(Maj. Jose Cardenas, 445th AW Public Affairs, contributed to this story.)
