AMC exercise kicks off in Michigan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
ALPENA, Mich. (AFPN) --  Nearly 500 people from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., Grand Forks AFB, N.D., and Travis AFB, Calif., traveled to an Air National Guard base here for exercise Crisis Outlook 2004, a weeklong exercise designed to practice “ability to survive and operate” scenarios.

Col. Chris Coley, 62nd Operations Group commander at McChord and the “deployed” commander for the 562nd Air Expeditionary Group here, said the exercise was a prime example of teamwork among Air Mobility Command bases.

“Nobody succeeds alone,” Colonel Coley said. “Everything we do in the Air Force is done as a team. This exercise provides us that opportunity to work on that teambuilding concept by learning (and) getting better at what we do.”

Advance set-up and exercise evaluation team members arrived Oct. 13. A larger contingent of people arrived Oct. 15.

Objectives of the exercise include evaluating combat airlift and air refueling readiness, officials said. C-17 Globemaster IIIs from McChord and KC-135R Stratotankers from Grand Forks make up the bulk of the aircraft for the exercise. Airmen comprising the Tanker Airlift Control Element are from Travis.

Many Airmen have never participated in ATSO training.

“This is actually my first deployment of any kind,” said Airman 1st Class Donald McLeod, from the 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Grand Forks. “But when a real deployment comes along, I expect to take what I learned from here and know what I need to do.”

Airman McLeod said working with Airmen from other bases is also adding to his experience here.

“It’s definitely a plus having people here from other bases because most people don’t normally deploy with the same people you work with at home station,” he said.