May 6, 2012 at 4:15am
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- With JB McChord's operational readiness exercise just days away, the 627th Air Base Group provided Airmen an opportunity to practice their "Ability to Survive and Operate" skills April 30 through May 2, 2012.
According to Tech. Sgt. Troyann Ernle, 627th Civil Engineer Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of emergency management, there were 390 participants during the ATSO University.
"Most of the individuals who will be participating in the upcoming ORE were able to attend," said Ernle. "Most of them are primary players but we were able to include some alternates as well."
Airmen spent the first half of the day rotating between eight different stations of ATSO University. Each station included a briefing by a subject matter expert from the respective career field.
"We've got security forces providing weapons, logistic readiness providing training supplies and the Army even helped out by lending some equipment," said Master Sgt. Justin Malan, 627th CES emergency management superintendent. "We were able to recruit Airmen from all different squadrons and career fields so the most accurate information can be relayed."
During the wing plans and programs station, Capt. Brain Dodson, 62nd AW chief of exercises and evaluations, delivered a slideshow briefing to explain the meaning and importance behind an ORE.
"One of the notable points of feedback we received from the February mobility exercise was that people didn't understand the intent," said Dodson. "Our goal for the next one is to provide more knowledge as to why exercises are important. Also, we want to clearly define the expectations and let Airmen know what to expect."
While rotating between stations, Airmen discussed several ATSO topics including self-aid and buddy care, weapons familiarization and force protection conditions.
"This training is much more hands-on and hopefully more impactful than taking an online training course," said Ernle. "We are covering a wide range of topics. This way, we can detect our mistakes during the training portion and fix them for future exercises."
Airman 1st Class Dustin Davis, 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief and alternate player in the upcoming ORE, said the ATSO University training was a great refresher.
"We've basically been taught this stuff before, but this is a good memory jogger," said Davis. "I've learned about the chemical decontamination process, but I've never actually seen it demonstrated before today. So that was a big help."
Following the morning of ATSO stations, the 627th CES conducted a mini mobility exercise, which tested the knowledge Airmen had just received.
"They learned all about ATSO this morning, and now we'll get to observe them applying they've retained," said Ernle. "This mobility exercise gives them an idea of what to expect during the actual operational readiness inspection."
Airmen from McChord Field are expected to depart later this week to conduct ORE training at Volk Field, Wis.
PHOTO: Tech. Sgt. Troyann Ernle, 627th Civil Engineer Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of emergency management, briefs a group of Airmen during “Ability to Survive and Operate” training May 1, 2012, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. “This training is much more hands-on and hopefully more impactful than taking an online training course,” said Ernle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leah Young)
22nd Special Tactics Squadron, 262nd Information Warfare Aggressor Squadron, 361st Recruiting Squadron, 446th Airlift Wing, 5th Air Support Operations Squadron, 62nd Airlift Wing, 62nd Maintenance Group, 62nd Medical Squadron, 62nd Mission Support Group, 62nd Operations Group, 728th Airlift Squadron, Afghanistan, Air Mobility Command, Air Rodeo, Awards, Ceremony, Contest, Defense News, Dependent, Deployment, Education, Environment, Family Readiness, Food and Drink, Furlough, Health, History, Holidays, Honors, Iraq, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Lacey, Lakewood, Madigan, McChord Air Museum, McChord Base Exchange, McChord Commissary, Memorial, Military Discount, Military Policy, News To Us, Olympia, Space-A Travel, Sports, Tacoma, Training, U.S. Air Force, USO, Veterans, Web/Tech, Weekly Volcano, Western Air Defense Sector
Thanks for listing down some of the things to consider when buying renters insurance. I totally...
you are say about this Air Force highly recommends absolutely right and i appreciate your...
This is real take it serious, my name is marian i, who will believe that a herb can Cure...
Its always a treat to be able to get on base and all of the planes from around the world come...
Thanks for giving us nice info. Fantastic walk-through. I appreciate this post.
Read Comments