Dyess' readiness tested during ORE

by Airman 1st Class Charles V. Rivezzo
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

10/22/2012 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- For three days the Airmen of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, were tested on their ability to deploy personnel and assets to a deployed location in support of combatant commanders during an operational readiness exercise Oct. 15-17.

During this exercise, known as a Phase I ORE, Dyess was evaluated on the wing's ability to prepare and mobilize from peacetime readiness to a wartime posture on short notice. Areas evaluated included command and control, deployment processing, employment readiness, information operations and force protection.

This particular exercise was unique from other OREs the wing has done in the past.

"We wanted to try and make it as real as possible and demonstrate the wing's capability to respond to real world tasking and work through real-world requirements," said Maj. Eric Arnold, 7th Bomb Wing chief of inspections. "Our goal was to focus on how we would execute a mission if tasked in real-time with an emphasis on satisfying real world requirements."

The exercise was a preparatory event for an October 2014 operational readiness inspection and gave wing leadership an opportunity to observe the state of readiness of the base's ability to rapidly deploy to a downrange location.

"The ORE gave our personal an opportunity to work through processes they don't do during day-to-day operations," Arnold said. "When it comes to these types of exercises there is a significant increase in the level of complexity and synchronization needed for all personnel to be able to pull together and fulfill a larger requirement like an ORI or an operational deployment for a contingency requirement."

Arnold said that while the exercise was successful in itself, it also created a foundation for other learning opportunities in the future.

"All indications point to the fact that everything went very well," he said. "We had a few issues here and there, but when we do these types of exercises, that's exactly what we are trying to identify. We want to see where the problems are and create a solution for them."

Arnold added that while Team Dyess performed well, consistently preparing and training will be the key to not only perform well in the upcoming ORI, but also to maintain a state of readiness for any contingency operation in the future.