Joint mobility team concludes support for major combat exercise

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Parker Gyokeres
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. (AFNS) --  A joint Air Force and Army team of 120 contingency response experts concluded support operations June 9, for Joint Operational Access Exercise 12-02 in North Carolina.

JOAX was a two-week mobility and ground combat exercise to prepare Airmen and Soldiers to respond to worldwide crises and contingencies. It simulated the staging and forcible entry of U.S. combat forces into a hostile area.

Airmen assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing here joined forces with Soldiers assigned to the 688th Rapid Port Opening Element at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., to form a Joint Task Force - Port Opening team at an intermediate staging base at Mackall Army Airfield, N.C., from June 1 - 9.

A JTF-PO is a joint force of aerial and surface cargo specialists who establish aerial port operations and provide logistics support to expedite the flow of air and surface cargo to warfighters, said Col. Kevin Oliver, the commander of the 818th Contingency Response Group and JTF-PO commander. The joint force consisted of approximately 70 members of an Air Force Contingency Response Group and 50 Soldiers of an Army RPOE.

Together, this pair of specialized units forms a unique force capable of moving nearly anything through any location, said Maj. Joseph Borovicka, the 688th RPOE commander.

"The Army and the Air Force working together in the same team makes all the difference in the world," he said. "We are able to pool our knowledge and resources inside a single task force of experts so any problems, obstacles or misunderstandings are quickly resolved with minimum impact to our customers. Our expertise of surface logistics and the Air Force's knowledge of aerial cargo operations combine to fill gaps, paving the way for our customers to move smoothly through the intermediate staging base.

"I think the exercise went very well," he said. "But what matters is the customer's opinion. The customer's opinion was this was the smoothest intermediate staging base operation they've ever had for a JOAX. And the process of [cargo movement] here at Mackall (Army Airfield) and getting Soldiers and equipment back on the bird was the smoothest they've ever seen."

Colonel Oliver agreed with that assessment.

"Our operation here was a phenomenal success, and without a doubt we increased overall mission effectiveness," he said. "Not only did we have seamless integration with the RPOE for JTF-PO, we had a critical integration into the tactical fight.

"One of our contingency response teams was actually one the first aircraft into the objective area during the execution of the exercise," Oliver said. "An eight-man CRT assigned to the 621st forward-deployed from Mackall Army Airfield to establish an air mobility command and control node at the (landing zone) on Fort Bragg, N.C."

Once on the ground at the landing zone, the CRT members provided communications and situational awareness on aircraft operations to the ground force commander's assault command post during the simulated invasion and seizure of the LZ by thousands of Soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions.

In addition to on-location support in North Carolina for the large joint exercise, a team of 621st CRW air mobility division mission planners from the 615th Contingency Operations Support Group at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., served as the central command and control function for all air mobility operations. These included massive airdrops of paratroopers and equipment, administration and scheduling for all aerial cargo deliveries and aerial refueling coordination.

By working together to bridge cultural and even distance boundaries, the JTF-PO and AMD forces of the 621st and 688th proved they were capable of responding to the next challenge, Oliver said.

"This exercise was a fine demonstration that we take close to heart in the 818th CRG," he said. "Our group motto is to is to 'Lead, execute and engage.' We lead Airmen and Soldiers to prevail over every endeavor, execute expeditionary operations with speed and precision, and engage with our joint partners to dominate contingency operations.

"Everything I've seen out here this entire week truly embodies those three words," he said. "I couldn't be more proud of the Airmen and Soldiers of the JTF-PO."