Team Charleston gears up for the ORI

Published June 25, 2008
By Master Sgt. Paul Kilgallon
437th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- More than 400 Airmen from the 437th Airlift Wing participated in a week-long mobility exercise June 20 in preparation for Charleston AFB's operational readiness inspection in August.

During the Crisis Look 08-06 exercise, Charleston Airmen simulated deploying from here to form the 805th Air Expeditionary Wing on a base in Japan to support U.S. and allied military operations on the Korean peninsula and provide humanitarian aid to people in the region.

During the initial response portion of the exercise, base agencies were evaluated by exercise evaluation team members on getting the deploying Airmen and their cargo processed as quickly as possible.

"The initial response portion of the base was geared to see how effectively we can get our folks processed," said David Hunt, 437 AW Inspector General Readiness and Inspection chief. "Additionally, we were also looking at how effectively we could get our folks through the deployment lines, issue their equipment, get their briefings done and manifest them on an aircraft."

With the feedback the base received from deploying Airmen and EET members from the last fly away mobility exercise, several programs were revamped in order to make this exercise transition from home station to a deployed location much smoother, to include the creation of a "super chalk."

"The 'super chalk' was created to get more folks downrange quicker than we have ever done before," said Capt. Lori Tisdale, 437th Force Support Squadron Military Personnel Flight section chief. "We have doubled our chalk sizes from 50 to 65 Airmen to more than 124 Airmen at one time to deploy faster."

In addition to the creation of the 'super chalk,' Captain Tisdale said several improvements have been made to the personnel deployment function processing line in order to maximize the deployment timeframe.

"In order to get things done quicker we shortened our PDF briefing times from three-and-half hours to an hour-and-a-half by having the deploying Airmen attend briefings ahead of time and by processing the mobility folders of the main body earlier," said Captain Tisdale. "This way, discrepancies can be identified early and corrected before the main body even arrives to process the PDF line."

After all initial response portions of the exercise were completed, the deployed Airmen began the deployment phase of the exercise.

During this period, Airmen received additional training to sharpen their warrior skills. The training included ability to survive and operate training, tabletop drills for the installation control center and emergency operations center, facility managers training, post-attack reconnaissance training and a "war day" in which individual units could conduct specific training with their deploying Airmen.

Col. Joe Mancy, 437th Operations Group commander and the exercise deployed commander, said he was pleased with the overall outcome of the week-long exercise and how the home station Airmen really pitched in to make the training beneficial for everyone.

"I am extremely impressed with the dedication and motivation our Charleston warriors displayed this week ... it was truly amazing," said Colonel Mancy. "After this week, there is no doubt in my mind that we are really going to 'wow' the inspectors in the August ORI."

In order to gear up for the exercise, Colonel Mancy suggested that deploying warriors should keep the mnemonic PACES in mind.

"P is for pride because we are all members of the greatest team in Air Mobility Command. A is for aggressiveness and urgency. Move with a sense of purpose during the ORI. C is for competency. Become the subject matter expert of your specialty. E is for enthusiasm and attitude. Our attitudes are what can make or break an inspection. And finally, S is for safety. Safety should be woven into every aspect of what we do and is everyone's job," said Colonel Mancy .

"In the meantime, let's keep up the good work and stay focused on what needs to be done, and when the time comes, we are going to show those inspectors that Team Charleston is truly the best in AMC," said Colonel Mancy.