445th Airlift Wing prepares for ORI

  • Published
  • By Capt. John T. Stamm
  • 445th AW Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  One Air Force issue duffle bag: Check! Six pairs of sage-green airman battle uniform socks: Check! One C-17 Globemaster III transport plane destined for "Korea:" Check!

For deployment veterans here, the scenario on February 3 was all too familiar; for others it was a new experience. Luckily for both, it was only an exercise.

According to Col. Stephen D. Goeman, 445th Airlift Wing commander, the February 3 exercise was the second step in preparing the wing for the Operational Readiness Inspection scheduled for the base in January, 2013.

"In January approximately 70 personnel from the wing attended a table-top exercise at March Air Reserve Base (in California) to plan our preparation for the ORI," Goeman said.

"Today we are reviewing our mobilization processes with the 88th Mission Support Group. Troops are picking up required gear and we're loading cargo on to the plane. The whole idea is to find the bugs in the system and work them out."

The 88th is the host unit here that supports the 445th by providing various deployment supplies such as cold weather and chemical warfare gear, cargo and freight transportation and transient aircraft maintenance through services contracted out to WSI All-Star Facility Services, Dayton, Ohio. Brian Ferkaluk is the Chief of Supply for the 88th and a member of the Exercise Evaluation Team. His job during the exercise was to monitor and evaluate the WSI team.

"We are hoping to successfully process troops for the 445th during the ORI," Ferkaluk said. "So far, the only glitches we've identified were paperwork issues with a few troops and some minor cargo issues. But that is why we are here; to identify weakness we need to address."

The exercise tested the ability of the unit to ensure that all troops were able to deploy with all the supplies they needed for whatever environment they are headed to. In this case, the destination was Korea. The exercise also tested how quickly the task could be accomplished.

Troops were required to have three bags: an "A" bag with general purpose items such as the Individual First Aid Kit, a poncho, ammunition pouches, a canteen and a four-piece modular sleep system. These bags were assembled prior to the troops arriving and necessitated only a pick-up. The second "B" bag and third "C" bag were for cold weather and chemical warfare gear respectively. Troops had to processes through and build these bags individually.

"This is the first exercise we've conducted here where the troops have had to build their own bags," said Mr. Louie Dann, WSI lead project manager. "Individual sizes vary, and it's important that each Airman has gear that fits. We're also establishing a bench-mark in time. We estimate it will take two and a half hours to process 80 troops. Later, we will evaluate ourselves and identify areas where we can improve."

Tech. Sgt. Matthew Lawsen, 445th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, is a veteran of the deployment process.

"I've been through several of these exercises, and deployed to Iraq," Lawsen said. "Overall, I'd say that today's exercise is going very smoothly."

The 445th plans to conduct one ORE per month until the ORI next January. Future exercises include actual transportation of troops and cargo to simulated deployments at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Wisconsin and to the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center in Mississippi.