Airmen participate in joint exercise Global Response Expeditor

by Marvin Krause
43d Airlift Group public affairs

1/22/2014 - POPE ARMY AIRFIELD, FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- Total force mobility Airmen and 23 aircraft conducted joint exercise Global Response Expeditor alongside U.S. Army soldiers here Jan. 6 through Jan. 16.

The purpose of this exercise was to prepare United States Transportation Command units, Air Mobility Command forces and elements of the XVIII Airborne Corps to respond as part of the Global Response Force and to conduct Joint Forcible Entry operations.

The GRF is a force dedicated to maintaining the capability of deploying on short notice anywhere in the world by land, air, or sea to conduct a variety of mission sets. This force must be flexible and able to integrate Joint Operations Systems in any operating environment.

As an element of the GRF, the 82nd Airborne Division provides a unique forcible entry capability through airborne and air assault operations. The Division contributes manpower and equipment which can be inserted into an area within hours of notification.

Mobility crews and aircraft air dropped approximately 1,124 paratroopers and offloaded more than 120 short tons of cargo at drop zones at the Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, La.

"These exercises are great for us and the Army," said Col. Johnnie Martinez, air mission commander from the 19th Operations Group, Little Rock AFB, Ark. "Working together gives us all a better understanding of the roles and responsibilities that we have as part of the GRF." As the air mission commander, Martinez led the large formation flight of C-17s and C-130s from here to Fort Polk.

"Overall, I think everything went well," Martinez said. "We launched 19 of 20 aircraft from Pope Army Airfield so we were down just one C-130J, but I still think it was a success overall with the number of chutes that we got out," Martinez said.

According to exercise planners, the joint team successfully met all of their training objectives and aided the brigade combat team in achieving jump currency while preparing for an upcoming overseas deployment.

"This exercise required a lot of integration and planning for all of the different aircraft involved, including the C-17 and C-130s from Charleston, Elmendorf, McChord, McConnell, Little Rock, Dyess, and then all of the other capabilities that need to go along with them, including the maintenance personnel, ramp coordinators, joint airdrop inspection and intel," said Maj. Joe Bonner, Air Force lead planner from the 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark.

"We received some great training throughout the week," Bonner said. I think it was a resounding success, all the way from the outload to the aircraft and then all the way through execution. Out of 1,124 chutes we delivered 1,073 personnel - more than 95 percent of what the Army provided us as well as all their equipment and container delivery systems. I was very happy with how it turned out."

Global Response Expeditor also illustrated the critical partnership between Mobility Air Forces and the U.S. Army by exercising Joint Forcible Entry: the capability of rapidly introducing forces into hostile environments to conduct operations - whether for combat operations or humanitarian support.

"This exercise was a great opportunity and really the key words that we think about when we do this is joint integration and composite force integration," said Maj. Leonardo Tongko, C-130J Hercules aircraft formation flight lead from the 61st Airlift Squadron, Little Rock AFB, Ark. "The things that we don't get to practice a whole lot like joint command and control execution are what we want to continuously prove and work on so that when we actually get in combat, we're that much more prepared."

By interacting and working closely with their joint partners, Airmen participating in Global Response Expeditor are able to develop refinements to processes and procedures that can potentially enhance their effectiveness for contingency operations.

Exercise participants included Air Force airlift and air refueling aircraft units from across the country, including C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. Units belonging to the 621st Contingency Response Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., included the 570th Contingency Response Group, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., 817th Contingency Response Group, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and the 43rd Airlift Group, Pope Army Airfield, N.C., participated in the exercise as well.