MOBEX prepares MacDill wings for deployment Published June 10, 2010 By Nick Stubbs 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Getting people and equipment to the fight as quickly and efficiently as possible can be a make or break proposition, which is why the 6th Air Mobility Wing and the 927th Air Refueling Wing staged a mobility exercise over the weekend, the first joint exercise since the 927th relocated to MacDill Air Force Base. "It went well," was how 1st Lt. Rachael Mooney, installation deployment officer described the scramble of servicemembers and gear along the flightline Saturday and Sunday. The mock deployment of hundreds of people and loads of gear onto waiting C-17 cargo aircraft identified strengths and weaknesses, and was invaluable in helping both wings prepare for an actual deployment, said Lieutenant Mooney. "It's to test the process of moving members and cargo out of town as quickly as possible," she said. "We are in the process now of going through our observations and are sitting down with the 927th to discuss how we can better work together in the event of an actual deployment." These types of exercises always reveal areas that need improvement, said Lieutenant Mooney, but overall the two wings came together to overcome some "processing systems differences" and learned much to facilitate smooth operations in the future. The exercise also helps prepare the wings for an upcoming Operation Readiness Inspection, January, 2011 to show how well units perform in the various readiness functions. Weekend mobility exercises are not the norm at MacDill, said Lieutenant Mooney, but because the 927th is a Reserve unit, the weekend exercise allowed most working reservists to participate without interfering with their civilian work schedules.