621st CRW bridge Green Flag, JRTC exercise together

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Ryan Fennessey, 821st Contingency Response Squadron aerial porter, spots a forklift while unloading a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft during a Joint Readiness Training exercise, Feb. 12, 2016, at Alexandria International Airport, LA. Throughout the exercise the aerial port team loaded and offloaded 101 C-130 Super Hercules and 21 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and moved 282 short tons of cargo during the exercises, as well as supporting the movement of more than 670 passengers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks)

621st CRW bridge Green Flag, JRTC exercise together

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Fraissinet, 821st Contingency Response Squadron maintainer, prepares to marshal a Royal Canadian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft during a Joint Readiness Training exercise, Feb. 11, 2016, at Alexandria International Airport, LA. Throughout the exercise the aerial port team loaded and offloaded 101 C-130 Super Hercules and 21 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and moved 282 short tons of cargo during the exercises, as well as supporting the movement of more than 670 passengers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks)

621st CRW bridge Green Flag, JRTC exercise together

Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing, offload cargo from a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft using a K-loader, during a Joint Readiness Training exercise, Feb. 12, 2016, at Alexandria International Airport, LA. Throughout the exercise the aerial port team loaded and offloaded 101 C-130 Super Hercules and 21 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and moved 282 short tons of cargo during the exercises, as well as supporting the movement of more than 670 passengers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks)

621st CRW bridge Green Flag, JRTC exercise together

Marines prepare to board a C-130J Super Hercules during a Joint Readiness Training exercise, Feb. 12, 2016, at Alexandria International Airport, LA. Throughout the exercise the aerial port team loaded and offloaded 101 C-130 Super Hercules and 21 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and moved 282 short tons of cargo during the exercises, as well as supporting the movement of more than 670 passengers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks)

621st CRW bridge Green Flag, JRTC exercise together

A U.S. Airman left, and a Royal Canadian Air Force member, push a pallet onto a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft during a Joint Readiness Training exercise, Feb. 11, 2016, at Alexandria International Airport, LA. During the exercise, the two countries integrated their aerial port operations to get a better understanding on how each country operate while loading aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks)

621st CRW hone ABO skill set during JRTC

Published March 1, 2017
By Staff Sgt. Robert Hicks
621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --

Airmen from the 621^st Contingency Response Wing exercised their ability to be called into action at a moment’s notice during exercise Joint Readiness Training Center 17-04, Feb. 10 - 18.

Approximately 85 Airmen from the 621^st CRW and 2,500 Soldiers from the 25^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, participated in the exercises operating out of the JRTC near Fort Polk, La., Alexandria International Airport, La., and Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

“Airmen in the CRW are able to rapidly deploy in a matter of hours, and possess the capability to open a runway, set up an aerial port and, in this scenario, load/offload the Army’s equipment and personnel onto air mobility aircraft so those assets can deliver it to the fight,” said Maj. Stephen Teeple, of 821^st Contingency Response Support Squadron fulfilling the role of Contingency Response Element Commander for the exercise.

Throughout the exercise the aerial port team loaded and offloaded 101 C-130 Hercules and 21 C-17 Globemaster III aircraft missions and moved 282 short tons of cargo, as well as supporting the movement of 670 passengers.

“JRTC 17-04 provides the CRW with an opportunity to interface with units that we otherwise may not get the chance to work with before operationally required,” Teeple said. “The exercises allows us to hone our skill set to ensure operational success when called upon beyond the exercise environment.”

The 621st CRW participates in multiple JRTC exercises every year, being a training opportunity applicable to nearly all career fields encompassed in the contingency response mission set.

“Even though we are here in a supporting role in an Army centric exercise, this environment allows us to assess our own policies, procedures, training and equipment and provides an ongoing effort to improve upon what we already know to be successful,” Teeple said.

Although a majority of the CRW Airmen and assets are staged out of Alexandria International Airport to support the Army and AMC aircraft, they also play a huge role at Geronimo Landing Zone near Fort Polk.

“Geronimo Landing Zone acts as the forward staging base were all of the cargo and passengers from Alexandria International Airport are delivered too,” said Maj. William Barrett, CRE evaluator. “At the landing zone the CRW has aerial porters, maintainers, command and control operations and an Air Mobility Liaison Officer staged there to ensure the Army cargo is delivered.”