Airmen test readiness during phase I exercise
By Airman 1st Class Nathaniel Hudson, 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
/ Published December 10, 2018
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- A deployment can happen at a moment’s notice, and during a Phase I exercise, Airmen are tested on their ability to answer that call whenever it may come.
To that end, members of the 375th Air Mobility Wing, with help from 932nd Airlift wing, 635th Supply Chain Operations Wing, and the 19th Airlift Wing based out of Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, participated in an exercise Dec. 3-5.
“We’re here to test the readiness of our folks to transition from a peacetime mode into a contingency operation where they will have to forward deploy and do their wartime job,” said Charlie Mills, 375th AMW director of inspections.
During a Phase I exercise all parts of the wing must work together to ensure Airmen are physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared to deploy and properly equip them to perform their job in a deployed environment.
“We have to regularly exercise all these functions to make sure everything is able to run smoothly all the way from the execution order all the way until the last [group of deployers] is out the door,” said Col. Michael Ueda, 375th Air Mobility Wing inspector general. “That includes all the wing functions, Force Support Squadron, Logistics Readiness Squadron, Medical group and Wing Staff Agencies. All those teams work together to make a deployment mobilization happen.”
Mobility exercises like this are held periodically and supports the Air Force’s renewed efforts on full spectrum readiness.
“There’s a lot of new faces and a lot of people in new positions, so it’s going to be a good test to validate training,” said Mills. “It’s one of the necessary things we have to do to maintain the right level of readiness for our nation.”