LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- To kick-off Air Mobility Command’s largest full-spectrum readiness exercise in the command’s history, the 19th Airlift Wing successfully executed its “Rocket Launch Playbook,” July 4-7, 2023.
The Rocket Launch Playbook is a newly-created supplement to the base’s Installation Deployment Plan. It provides a means for the 19th AW to rapidly deploy its C-130J Force Elements in an extremely accelerated timeline to enable the Joint Force scheme of maneuver.
The 19th AW deployed eight C-130Js, more than 200 Airmen, and equipment to the Indo-Pacific region to participate in Exercise MOBILITY GUARDIAN 2023 (MG23).
A multinational endeavor, MG23 will feature seven participating countries – Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States – operating approximately 70 mobility aircraft across multiple locations spanning a 3,000-mile exercise area through July 21. MG23 will employ 3,000 personnel in direct support of the exercise and will support more than 15,000 U.S., Allied, and partner forces associated with other exercises in the region.
The 19th AW has been rehearsing and refining its ability to rapidly deploy while aligning mission priorities with the new Air Force Force Generation model.
In the months leading into MG23, the 19th AW trained hundreds of Airmen on Multi-Capable Airmen and expeditionary core competencies at the locally-established Warrior Airmen Readiness Center. Additionally, they tested the Rocket Launch Playbook, followed by a first-of-its-kind Maximum Endurance Operation during which two C-130J Super Hercules conducted 30-hour single-aircraft endurance missions, demonstrating multi-day mission generation capabilities—flying for more than 30 hours—while only landing to refuel.
Colonel Denny Davies, 19th AW commander, highlighted the importance of interoperability and the need to “Go Faster” in the face of an exercise of this scale.
“Establishing the skillful and cohesive integration of the Joint Force and our Allies and partners is paramount to meaningful maneuver during MG23,” said Davies. “With Mobility Air Forces leading the way and our newly developed capabilities giving us the ability to go faster than ever before, we will succeed in emphasizing the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific that operates under the precepts of a rules-based international order.”