Travis' 615th CRW Airmen set off for Afghanistan Published Aug. 18, 2009 By Ian Thompson Daily Republic TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A contingent of about 100 members of the 615th Contingency Response Wing members are in the process of deploying to Afghanistan to support military operations there. On Friday, the latest group shouldered their backpacks and boarded a C-17 Globemaster jet transport that will take them first to Europe and then an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. The 615th CRW and its squadrons are traditionally deployed to assess possible locations for airfields, set up airfield operations in austere locations and coordinate airlift support for military and humanitarian operations. One group has already left to choose locations where the other 615th forces will expect to land. The information they send back will determine when and where the rest of the contingent sets up operations. This is the largest single wartime deployment the 615th CRW has made in some time. It has sent out smaller groups in support of presidential trips overseas during the last year. The only thing Lt. Col. Clarence Lukes, commander of the 570th Global Mobility Squadron, said about the destination is that it looks similar to the high mountain desert area where the 615th recently trained. The long week of training near Barstow, setting up and running airlift operations in the hot, dusty, isolated location earlier this summer, helped get the 615th members ready for the deployment, Lukes said. "The only thing that has changed is the location," Lukes said, adding wryly that a lot of Afghanistan looks a lot like the desert near Barstow. This will be the first time Senior Airman David Bader of the 570th GMS is going overseas. He said all his training has prepared him for this mission. "I know that I can handle it," Bader said. Bader's job is coordinating communications between his GMS team and any American and allied aircraft operating in and around the airfield site. Col. John Lipinksi, the 615th's commander, was on the flightline to see off his troops and wish them good luck. "They are all very well trained and are ready to exercise the mission," Lipinski said. (Editor's note: Reprinted with permission of Fairfield (Calif.) Daily Republic)