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CRW units prove 'mission ready' at Eagle Flag exercise

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Zachary Wilson
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center
JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The Maxfield Runway at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., bears little resemblance to the activity from a few weeks ago that saw hundreds of Airmen and Soldiers bustling cargo from aircraft and trucks amidst constant freezing temperatures, wind, snow and ice.

The mobility experts have since returned home after the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center concluded U.S. Air Force Exercise Eagle Flag iterations 13-1 and 13-2. The exercise resulted in U.S. Transportation Command verifying two Contingency Response Groups from the 621st Contingency Response Wing working alongside Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 690th Rapid Port Opening Element were ready to perform aerial port opening missions worldwide, according to Center officials.

"While Exercise Eagle Flag began as an air base opening exercise in 2003, the flexible venue has adapted easily to cater to USTRANSCOM's JTF-PO mission requirements," said Col. Patrick Owens, Expeditionary Operations School commander at the Center. "The opportunity Eagle Flag provides to validate a unit's mission readiness is key to ensuring USTRANSCOM is always ready to respond quickly in a contingency."

The bi-annual Air Force Chief of Staff-directed exercise, which tested the 571st Contingency Response Group from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., during EF 13-1, the 817th CRG from JB MDL during EF 13-2, and the 690th RPOE from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., during both, simulated a scenario where the U.S. military was tasked to assess, open and operate from an established airfield in a foreign country to support contingency operations in the affected region.

The exercise teamed the CRG units up with the 690th RPOE to form a single joint unit and execute a mission designated as Joint Task Force Port Opening. Exercise participants were tasked to receive cargo from aircraft at their newly opened port, transport the cargo to a forward location for distribution, establish a working command and control network, construct living and working areas for the Airmen and Soldiers at two locations and provide security for the mission.

"A JTF-PO is a joint task force that calls on the Air Force to fly in supplies and equipment, offload it, store it temporarily and then the Army transports the items to a distribution point, known as a 'forward node', where they organize and temporarily store the items until final delivery or pick-up by a customer," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Pugh, EC scenario developer for Eagle Flag. "During this entire process, the assets are fully tracked and accounted for at each location."

"Within a JTF-PO operation, the customer can be a combination of government organizations or non-governmental organizations in a humanitarian operation transporting the materials to their final destination elsewhere in the region," Pugh said.

A JTF-PO organization works to support a geographic combatant commander responsible for a contingency, whether it is humanitarian, counter-terrorism or conventional military operations. Actual command and control of the JTF-PO is the responsibility of USTRANSCOM at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. USTRANSCOM is the functional combatant command responsible for logistics movements of all U.S. military assets across the globe, according to USTRANSCOM officials.

"Not only are units being trained on joint operations but the capability for USTRANSCOM to verify a unit's mission readiness at Eagle Flag is priceless. It began as a training opportunity for CRGs and RPOEs to learn the JTF-PO mission but has quickly progressed to the level of verification; a certification the unit is mission ready," said Lt. Col. Rhett Boldenow, 421st Combat Training Squadron commander. "The lessons commanders learn during the exercise help ensure mission success during overseas contingency operations."

Cargo movement is a primary mission focus during Eagle Flag. However, many other considerations and events take place during the exercise to give the participants a wide spectrum of realistic scenarios that require them to display adaptability and flexibility to accomplish their mission.

"There are many non-cargo related areas they are responsible for," Pugh said. "One of the unique areas that Eagle Flag offers training and experience in is building relationships with the host-nation. We feature a number of people acting in a variety of government capacities as well as a fully-functional village. The way the participants interact and work with both of these groups can impact a number of areas; from their base security posture to their ability to get supplies from local contractors."

Eagle Flag scenarios are scripted for the most part beforehand but the reaction of the participants drives the exercise in whatever direction the actions would realistically go, both good and bad. This enhances the learning opportunities as the exercise is flexible enough to often allow second and third order effects of participant actions to be played out within the scope of the exercise.

"The participants can shape the exercise's flow in a variety of ways," Pugh said. "An example is if the participants establish a strong relationship with the local community then the local attitude to the presence of American troops on their soil will be largely positive. This will not only allow the participants to focus more on their cargo movement, but will contribute to the positive portrayal of U.S. forces and can assist in achieving full mission success."

Budget considerations have impacted Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force missions at every level, especially operations. However, the capabilities demonstrated, evaluated and verified during exercises such as Eagle Flag are critical to the U.S. military's ability to respond to a wide variety of contingencies, particularly expeditionary environments requiring flexibility, small footprints and limited logistical support, according to Center officials.

"In an era of limited financial resources, the Eagle Flag venue is able to maximize the return on investment through the cross-functional skillsets that can be trained and the opportunities to experience realistic scenarios are invaluable to a unit's training cycle," Owens said. "The scenario development and support staff of the 421st CTS look for opportunities to challenge the participants with situations that deployed units face on a daily basis. The capability to analyze those situations and reactions in training makes every unit better prepared for a deployment."