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615th CRW members support Ulchi Freedom Guardian in South Korea

  • Published
  • By Capt. Paradon Silpasornprasit
  • 615th Contingency Response Wing
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Members of the 15th Air Mobility Operations Squadron traveled half way around the world to lend their expertise to the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise held in the Republic of Korea from Aug. 17 to 28. Ulchi Freedom Guardian is the world's largest annual computerized command and control exercise. 

The 15th AMOS trains to respond to contingency operations in the Pacific theater, specializing in the war plans, contingency operations and cultural nuances unique to that area of the world. A team of 36 from the 15th AMOS had an opportunity to hone their skills in supporting the defense of the Republic of Korea. 

"We are a deployable force that can depart within 12 to 24 hours to provide a capability," said Lt. Col. Jay Junkins, 15th AMOS commander and the daytime deputy Air Mobility Division chief for the Combined AMD during the exercise. 

In this case, that capability was command and control of U.S. airlift assets on the Korean Peninsula. The AMOS is a specialized unit that provides command and control at the operational level, whereas the 615th CRW specializes in the more tactical portions of a mission. 

"We're controlling all the airlift flow that's coming into our AOR [Area of Responsibility]," Junkins said. "There are really three core competencies that we provide -- air mobility, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation." 

"By doing these exercises we are honing our skills to make us that much better at execution," said Lt. Col. Rico Telles, 15th AMOS director of operations and nighttime deputy AMD chief at UFG. "I would contend that we would do very well in a real-world scenario." 

During the exercise, Colonel Telles worked with their Republic of Korea Air Force counterparts in the Combined AMD. "You have ROK Air Force airlift planners sitting next to U.S. airlift planners and that way you're geographically combined, which helps that coordination." 

The Armistice between the United States and the Republic of Korea facilitates U.S. Airmen working side-by-side with Republic of Korea Air Force personnel. 

Senior Airman Edward Jones, 15th AMOS, supported the air tasking order integration mission during UFG. He supported the daily flying schedule by importing aircraft data into a system that provided all other military services on the peninsula with visibility on Air Force aircraft such as the C-5s, C-17s, and C-130s transporting cargo in and out of theater. 

During the exercise, Airman Jones said he had an opportunity to successfully install a more advanced tracking system and was able to train a fellow Airman on how to operate it. "It was great for training purposes because when we deploy to the desert, that's what we use," he said. 

This is the second year Republic of Korea forces lead the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise. 

"We're there as a show of force and it's extremely important we represent in the exercise," Colonel Telles said. "Even as we work toward this transition with them being in the lead, they'll still expect us to be there because of our history. If they ever needed us to help them we could roll right in and support that if we have the assets and vice versa."