Article Display

305th AMW conducts ACOT

Senior Airman Adam Kwietniak, 6th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, peers through a hole in the wall during a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape exercise on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., March 18, 2015. The exercise consisted of four air crew members evading a reaching an extraction point. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua King/Released)

305th AMW conducts ACOT

Capt. Matt Pianalto, 6th Airlift Squadron aircraft commander, hides in the woods while trying to make contact with a simulated U.S. embassy during an Advanced Combat Operations Training on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., March 18, 2015. Pianalto participated in the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape portion of the training which consisted of evading capture in the woods and make it to the evacuation point. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua King/Released)

305th AMW conducts ACOT

Senior Airman Adam Kwietniak, 6th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, hides while evading through the woods during a Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape exercise on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., March 18, 2015. The exercise consisted of four air crew members evading a reaching an extraction point. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua King/Released)

305th AMW conducts ACOT

An F-22 Raptor receives fuel from a KC-10 Extender during an Advanced Combat Operations Training over the Atlantic Ocean, March 19, 2015. The KC-10 can hold up to 356,000 pounds of fuel and can refuel aircraft from all branches of the U.S. military. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua King/Released)

305th AMW conducts ACOT

Published April 9, 2015
By Airman 1st Class Joshua King
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST -- The 305th Air Mobility Wing held an Advanced Combat Operations Training exercise, March 18th and 19th, here.

The ACOT consisted of in-air refueling missions that simulated combat area maneuvering and Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape where a C-17 Globemaster III crew had to evade through the woods after escaping a simulated capture.

Multiple KC-10 Extender aircraft refueled F-22 Raptors to keep them in the simulated fight. The KC-10s circled outside of the simulated combat zone staying close enough to the Raptors so they don't have to be refueled while demonstrating the in-air refueling mission.

The KC-10 Extender's primary roles are transport and aerial refueling. It can hold up to 356,000 pounds of fuel, and with an improved refueling boom it can refuel Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft all in one mission.

The other part of ACOT was the SERE portion of the exercise, an aircrew evaded captors and made contact with the simulated U.S. embassy and were able to coordinate rescue for the team. The embassy sent a pickup truck to transport the team to an area where it would be safe for them to walk the final stretch to an extraction point.

The team spent the majority of the day in the woods evading a team, who as part of the exercise, were trying to track and recapture them.

"I thought the training went very well," said Capt. Matthew Pianalto, 6th Airlift Squadron, Aircraft Commander. "The four of us were able to effectively use various skills to assess our environment, various communications rescue assets, evade and successfully signal rescue forces."

The 305th Air Mobility Wing's mission is: We provide rapid global mobility excellence by generating ready, professional Airmen and equipment to deliver superior air refueling, airlift, maintenance, aerial port and mission support operations for the United States and our allies anytime, anywhere.

This exercise exemplified that.