JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The 621st Contingency Response Wing recently announced its future strategy, which provides a comprehensive multi-phased plan for developing operationally agile forces as directed by higher headquarters strategic guidance.
In keeping with Air Force’s Future Operating Concept released in September 2015, the 621st CRW seeks to meet prospective challenges by continuing to foster and improve its forces’ operational agility, which is defined as “the ability to rapidly generate—and shift among—multiple solutions for a given challenge….It is the ability to act appropriately within a changing context.”
In January 2016, the CRW convened commanders, senior enlisted leaders and subject matter experts from across the contingency response community to develop ways to streamline organizational capabilities and processes in order to make them smaller, faster, leaner and more integrated. The forum was instrumental towards forming the CRW’s strategic plan, helping define its force’s needs and how they will be committed to the future employment of rapid global mobility.
“An operationally agile organization is an adaptable one, able to cope in uncertain and changing complex environments,” said Col. James Copher, commander of the 621st Contingency Response Wing. “The CRW is inherently flexible and operationally agile by design, but it must continue to refine mission command and shared consciousness through cross-mission knowledge—these are essential components of an adaptable organization.”
Copher said that planning for the future states of operations assumes certain conditions both internally and externally. A key assumption of the wing’s strategy is that its operations tempo will continue to increase.
“We expect a continuing upward trend in CR requirements across the threat spectrum that includes developing more partnerships,” Copher said. “Accordingly, future CR must be lighter, leaner and faster. Our Airmen must embrace and project a Defender mindset, promoting leadership, teamwork and security. Every CR Airman must be capable of advising joint, interagency and multinational partners on mobility and CR employment.”
Copher said the 621st CRW must continue to foster key partnerships to improve the agility of its forces and refine the wing’s ability to integrate mission sets amongst diverse organizations.
In setting the conditions for ensuring an inclusive and adaptable CRW enterprise, leadership identified several challenges: building a stronger CRW identity that comprises the wing’s capabilities, effectively employing mission command and empowering enlisted leaders to make critical decisions, and increasing the speed and response time of mobility forces.
“CR forces currently operate in the 99 percent-probable operations realm,” Copher said. “We must develop CR forces that thrive in one percent-probable circumstances when called upon to do so—no matter if the environment is permissive, hostile or uncertain.”
The actions the CRW is implementing to address these challenges are part of an ongoing, two-phase process. The first phase actually began in 2014 with top-to-bottom process evaluations in the realms of finance, mobility procedures, equipment, training, tactics and ops centric processes including plans and administration. The second phase focuses on program and process development that enhances the CRW’s ability to execute the mission, empowers its enlisted leaders, and codifies the career development of its members. Specifically, the plan establishes four priorities: codify the Organize, Train and Equip process and continue to improve it; build a comprehensive CRW tactics program; build and sustain a Functional Manager training program; and codify NCO/SNCO career development in the CRW.
To execute this strategic plan, CRW units will develop tactics programs, obtain equipment to make them lighter, leaner, and faster; provide Airmen with realistic training for both their CRW-specific competency and their core AFSC in contested, degraded, and operationally limited environments; and professionally develop Airmen to be successful officers and enlisted beyond the CRW.
Copher said the key to improved training, mission execution and operational agility will be continued deliberate, frequent and challenging employment.
“Where the 621 CRW goes, both physically and organizationally, AMC and the rest of the Air Force will follow,” Copher said. “It is imperative that we ensure the CRW is leading into the future while anticipating future challenges that only our Airmen can envision.”
Copher said CRW leadership will continue to meet periodically to assess the implementation of the wing’s strategic plan to keep it on track for the future.
To view an executive summary of the CRW's strategic plan, click here.
The 621 CRW’s mission is to “deploy versatile mobility Airmen, disciplined to solve problems in complex environments.” The wing accomplishes this mission through four major lines of effort: Contingency Response Forces (CRF) that open and operate airfields to link the established mobility structure to emerging contingencies of all types, in peace and war, to deliver airpower to the point of need; Mobility Support Advisory Squadrons (MSAS) that build partnerships with foreign nations allowing for operational deferment and facilitating access for future operations; Air Mobility Operation Squadrons (AMOS) that provide theater command and control during crises and steady state operations, which build and sustain partnerships and procedures at the COCOM level allowing significant participation in theater strategy and planning; and Mobility Support Operations Squadrons (MSOS) that provide mobility liaisons to the US Army and Marine Corps, linking joint partners with mobility capabilities.