Airmen participate in ORE

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Katie Spencer
  • 459th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  Airmen from the 459th Air Refueling Wing participated in an Operational Readiness Exercise in Alpena, Mich., March 5-9.

Over 300 wing personnel from all units traveled to the deployed location where they established 24-hour operations to simulate being in a real-life combat zone. The exercise was to prepare the base for an upcoming Operational Readiness Inspection scheduled for June.

"These exercises are so helpful because you don't know what you don't know until you go out and do the operations," said Samuel Mahaney, 459th ARW wing commander. "Each day we progressed and I am confident we will excel during the ORI."

During the exercise, Airmen were responsible for performing their jobs as well as having required items and gear readily available to use in a moment's notice. Some of the mandatory items include a gas mask, protective chemical suit and an Airman's Manual. Airmen were inspected on their ability to effectively dress in their chemical gear based upon the rules and regulations found in the Airman's Manual.

"One of the things we need to work on is paying attention to detail when it comes to the wear of our chemical gear," said Mahaney. "Utilizing the buddy system and ensuring perfect completeness with our Ability To Survive and Operate training will lead to an outstanding performance later on."

In addition to the 459th ARW, a team from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., also participated in the exercise.

"We spilt the responsibilities of day shift and night shift between us to be more effective during the operation," said Senior Airman Daniel King, a boom operator in the756th Air Refueling Squadron. "Since they will be working with us during the ORI it was beneficial to establish the relationships and learn the tasks together."

Both teams worked together to battle the scenarios thrown their way. Another victory was battling with the unpredictable weather.

"Even though we experienced rain, flooding, and single-digits temperatures, we had the best safety record the evaluators had ever seen, "said Mahaney.

While some of the team was in Michigan for the exercise, other 459th ARW members were working at Joint Base Andrews making sure the details of the deployment were flawless.

Departures to Michigan began a day before the exercise and the units conducted 24-hour operations to deploy their troops. Once the exercise was over, the operations at JBA resumed re-deploying the team back home.

"I am very proud of our wing, "said Mahaney. "I know people took time away from their families and jobs to participate and our success in this mission was due to their professionalism and positive attitudes."