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All in: living, training, operating in joint environments

  • Published
  • By Brig. Gen. Bill Bender
  • USAF Expeditionary Center commander
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  I recently watched Airmen from Travis Air Force Base and Soldiers from Joint Base Langley-Eustis train in their expeditionary mission during Exercise Eagle Flag, a Headquarters Air Force-sponsored exercise, held here at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. Not only was I impressed with the skills and the seamless integration these Army and Air Force units displayed during the exercise, but I was also impressed by the potential I see for future mission integration here at JB MDL.

I was excited to watch Eagle Flag and to see how the exercise helps us accomplish realistic training scenarios based on deployed operations and lessons learned from other joint exercises. Eagle Flag is a great example of how the Air Force is supporting the Chief of Staff of the Air Force's directive to be "All In" with our joint-service partners. Eagle Flag brings the joint team's expeditionary experts together to refine our expeditionary combat skills and processes that support combatant commanders in the field.

Realistic training can prove challenging to support. It presents commanders with tough choices as they attempt to strike the right balance between training and real-world mission requirements. Yet, I am more convinced than ever of the benefits of joint training. Gen. Norton Schwartz wrote in the CSAF Vector "the Air Force will always be an integral part of joint and coalition operations." If the Air Force is going to continue to leverage the unique skills and ingenuity Airmen bring to the joint fight, so that combatant commanders can benefit from the advantages airpower brings to bear, joint training exercises like Eagle Flag are imperative.

Headquartered at JB MDL, the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center is the Air Force's center of excellence for advanced expeditionary combat support training and education. The center partners with Air Staff, Air Education and Training Command and the U.S. Air Warfare Center to provide a disciplined training process that assures the right skills are taught at the right time across the expeditionary enterprise.

In order to meet our responsibilities to train and exercise for emerging expeditionary missions, we need to actively seek joint training opportunities for JB MDL's joint team. Irrespective of service, every time we train as joint partners, we'll learn more about how other services accomplish their mission and get better at integrating our operations in a joint environment, to better support combatant commanders.

Here at JB MDL, we are proof the joint team is stronger and more capable. I'm proud to be part of a team that lives, trains and works together year-round. What we do here is a model for the military of tomorrow. Leveraging our joint experiences by operating together on JB MDL and by taking advantage of opportunities to accomplish joint training will help us be better prepared to support the next contingency and deter the next would-be adversary.