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Multi-unit exercise takes place at Lakehurst

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 621st Contingency Response Wing took part in an exercise at Lakehurst airfield, April 27-30.

Approximately 28 Airmen from the 817th and 818th Contingency Response Groups supported the exercise with a contingency response team along with members of the 6th and 732nd Airlift Squadrons of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, and the 3rd Airlift Squadron stationed at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

During the training, crew members from five U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III's, conducted emergency runway operations, communication proficiency training, night vision goggle training, and a ramp coordinator chief received upgraded training during this exercise.

According Lt. Col. Michael Durband, 6th AS director of operations, the exercise is an excellent opportunity for the units involved to practice with a mission key partner like the 621st CRW.

"This exercise was a culmination of a number separate events with the CRW that focused on a crawl, walk, run concept that started with static load training events in January, February, and April before this culminating exercise," Durband said. "Our teams gain familiarity in a training environment before we interact in a contingency environment like West Africa or the Middle-East. Beyond the hands-on training gained by both Wings, this familiarity is the greatest outcome."

According to Tech. Sgt. Michael Folk, 818th Global Mobility Squadron contingency response team chief, this was the first time they conducted this exercise on this scale.

"We worked with the 6th AS a couple of different times before where we've marshaled their aircraft in or loaded their cargo," Folk said. "This is the first time on this scale that we worked with both Dover and McGuire aircrews to get training for everybody."

"The McGuire and Dover units usually use Lakehurst for their air training so we decided to work with those units to get beneficial training for our Airmen and their aircrews," Folk said "We used our cargo and gave their air crew the options to choose different load plans they wanted to train on, and our porters got the opportunity to train as well."

The CRW is highly-specialized in training and rapidly deploying personnel to quickly open airfields and establish, expand, sustain, and coordinate air mobility operations.