TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Airmen from the 515th Air Mobility Operations Wing (AMOW) traveled to Travis Air Force Base this week to meet with members of the 821st Contingency Response Squadron (CRS) and the 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron (AMOS), part of a growing effort to strengthen ties between the two commands and share lessons on expeditionary airlift operations.
The visit gave 515th AMOW personnel a firsthand look at how the 821st CRS trains, equips and deploys teams to open and operate austere airfields.
"The hope is to take what the Contingency Response does and see how it applies to us." said Capt. Dale Carlson Jr., 515 AMOW wing plans and requirements director. "We want to take their best practices, extract the data, and see exactly how we want to apply it toward the Air Mobility Team concept."
Carlson said the goal wasn't to replicate the CRS's footprint, but to borrow the habits and equipment choices that make the unit effective in the field.
Col. Christina Lee, 515 AMOW chief of staff and a former 821 CRS commander, said the partnership benefits both organizations, which frequently overlap in mission but differ in how and where they're employed.
"Having been a commander of the 821st CRS, it's awesome to be a part of a legacy of leaders in the CR — to come back and see that this squadron has flourished and they're still leading the rest," Lee said. “It's been invaluable for our airmen to be able to leverage each other's experiences — to understand how we overlap, and then to understand how we fill different roles in a contingency, crisis or conflict."
Both parties emphasized the visit was meant to be the start of a continuing relationship rather than a single event.
"This is about mutual support and partnership — making sure our teams can teach and observe each other's fundamentals and familiarize with how the other side operates, so we better synchronize exquisite capabilities in the AMC mission," said Col. Brian Trumble, commander of the 821st Contingency Response Group. "As we modernize our capabilities, this expanding relationship provides opportunities to make both of our organizations more viable and ready."
Staff Sgt. Paul Sheaffer, 732nd Air Mobility Squadron transmission systems technician out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, reflected on the tactical aspects that this partnership revealed to increase his unit’s networking and communication capabilities.
"We came here looking for things that the CRS does that we can take back to our air mobility teams to improve our processes and our equipment, and see what works for them that may be different than what we have," Schaefer said.
The 515th AMOW met with the 321st AMOS the following day to discuss best practices —integrating further into the mobility command and control picture.
"Air Mobility Command’s combat power and ability to drive the joint scheme of maneuver rely on tightly synchronizing the tactical flight line with theater-level operational planning. In a contested Pacific environment, data accuracy and speed are mission critical. By partnering with the 515th AMOW, we are cutting through system friction, integrating joint movement data, and bridging the gap between Air Operations Center planners and forward ground crews—ensuring enroute support, maintenance, and equipment are positioned ahead of need to sustain agile airlift," said Lt. Col. Paul Seal, 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron Commander
Following the visit, the 515th AMOW team hopes for more joint exercises and shared planning between the two commands in the future.
"We started this relationship so that as we evolve, modernize and hone our skills, our related communities can support each other and make sure we're the best we can be," Lee said.