Kadena Airmen test readines during exercise

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KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) --  Kadena Air Base Airmen processed cargo and personnel, donned gas masks, launched aircraft and searched for downed aircrew as part of a base exercise March 22 through 26 here.

The local operational readiness exercise, Beverly High 10-02, was designed to prepare Airmen to defend Japan and maintain peace and stability in the Pacific region.

"Kadena Air Base's strategic importance means that we need to be ready at any time to respond to a variety of situations," said Brig. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, the 18th Wing commander. "My goal was to evaluate the wing's readiness to respond to a major contingency operation."

The first phase of the exercise began March 22 and focused on testing the wing's ability to deploy people and cargo around the region.

"Kadena's mission requires that we be able to get people and cargo processed and deployed at the drop of a hat," said Maj. T.J. Reutiman, the 18th Wing Plans and Programs chief of exercises. "The first phase of this LORE tested our ability to do that and really challenged Kadena Airmen to operate under pressure."

Upon the conclusion of phase one March 24 while many Kadena Airmen returned to day-to-day operations, several hundred of their comrades transitioned to the second and final phase of the LORE: a forward-deployed scenario designed to evaluate their ability to operate from a deployed location in a combat environment.

"When we move to the second phase, we simulate that we've successfully moved the necessary people, weapons systems and cargo to the forward-deployed location where they need to be," Major Reutiman said. "Now we're looking to see how quickly and effectively we can set up the infrastructure required to conduct combat operations at a new location. We want to see how well our processes work and how well our Airmen function under the simulated stress of combat."

"Our Airmen demonstrated both a sense of urgency in carrying out their mission and a great deal of operational expertise," General Wilsbach said. "The wing proved that it's capable of getting the job done under difficult circumstances."

The general added that one of the benefits of the LORE is that it reveals areas that need attention.

"You want to find challenges when you conduct this sort of exercise," General Wilsbach said. "Pinpointing the areas we need to improve on now affords us the opportunity to fix them before they hurt us. That's our job now: to take the lessons from this exercise and make sure we apply them in the future."