MacDill’s mobility Airmen exercise Total Force readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Shannon Bowman
  • 6th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

Mobility Airmen from the 6th and 927th Air Refueling Wings conducted a Total Force operational readiness exercise here March 4-7.

MacDill’s Total Force medical, maintenance, mission support and operations groups undergo precise training and are regularly evaluated in order to ensure that they are prepared and able to execute the nation’s strategic deterrence mission.

“Our Airmen know their mission and they take these exercises to heart to ensure mission success,” said Chief Master Sgt. Shae Gee, 6th Air Refueling Wing command chief. “We want each of our Airmen to know that every job and specialty is vital to our mission, vision and priorities.”

Operational readiness exercises allow units assigned to the 6th and 927th ARWs the ability to highlight and evaluate their functional roles and overall contributions to Team MacDill’s strategic deterrence efforts.

The task of issuing equipment and validating cargo during the readiness exercise falls into the hands of the Airmen assigned to the 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

“Our Airmen continue to show that we are ready to Accelerate, Change and execute this mission,” said Joseph Healey, the 6th LRS installation deployment officer.Repetition is key in the deployment machine, from unit deployment manager preparations, to processing personnel and cargo through the personnel deployment function and cargo deployment function.  We ask a tremendous amount of our Airmen on a daily basis and they continue to shine when we activate the machine for any contingency.”

To increase the lethality and agility of rapid global mobility, Team MacDill is developing teams of multi-capable Airmen to accomplish air mobility support tasks outside their core Air Force specialty code, capable of providing force-multiplying effects in austere, nontraditional locations for the Joint Force.

“It is important for our Airmen to approach these exercises with the mentality of sharpening their skills so that no matter what, we can do our jobs to the best of our ability and ensure mission success,” said Gee.

Training exercises help to validate the readiness of Airmen today and tomorrow to provide airlift, air refueling, aeromedical evacuation and global mobility in support of the nuclear enterprise.

“We are focused on increasing our capabilities against near peer threats and winning the high-end fight,” said Col. Ben Jonsson, 6th ARW commander. “These operational readiness exercises are a tool to help us ensure Team MacDill’s readiness to take the fight to our adversaries.”

To ensure continued projection of the Joint Force and strategic deterrence, MacDill’s priorities rest upon developing Total Force Mobility Airmen and advancing warfighting capabilities to operate more quickly and with greater agility.