Joint Base hosts Eagle Flag exercise, Soldiers and Airmen practice port opening

  • Published
  • By Capt. Andi Hahn
  • Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. (AFNS) --  Members of the Kentucky Air National Guard's Contingency Response Group mobilized here July 26 as part of joint exercise Eagle Flag 10-3, which simulates a deployment in support of humanitarian relief efforts.

This year's Eagle Flag exercise included members from the Army and Air Force, both active-duty and Reserve components, who came together to form the Joint Task Force-Port Opening.

There were 147 servicemembers participating in the exercise, including 82 Kentucky guardsmen from the 123rd CRG; 50 Soldiers from the Army's 689th Rapid Port Opening Element; 10 Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing; three members of the New Jersey Air National Guard's 108th CRG; and two civilians from the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

In a mock scenario, members of the JTF-PO are deployed to a struggling part of a poor country called "Nessor." Participants are evaluated on their ability to work together to rapidly establish a port opening to support humanitarian relief operations within that country.

The JTF-PO Airmen provide the air mobility expertise and the Soldiers provide the ground surface movement expertise to operate as one team, expediting movement of cargo from Lakehurst Airfield to a pre-determined forward node for further distribution. The goal is to get the right stuff to the right place at the right time.

This was only the second Eagle Flag joint exercise, and the first in which a National Guard unit was invited to participate.

"This provides a good challenge for us working with the Army," said Maj. Kevin Thornberry, the JTF-PO logistical officer-in-charge. "We are getting more and more engaged with the Army with these kinds of joint activities and (the exercise) helps us understand their capabilities, and they understand ours."

Everyone realized there were initial challenges to overcome, but they worked through them to establish a good flow of operations, said Army Capt. Matt Zayd, the 689th RPOE operations officer-in-charge.

"Once you overcome the difference in lingo and terminology, the basics are the same," Captain Zayd said. "Understanding each other and working together continually allows for the mission to be successful."