JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD -Squadrons from across Team McChord will participate in Operation KENNEY'S RETURN Aug. 19-29, in Australia.

The operation is named after Air Force General George C. Kenney who directed the successful air war in the Southwest Pacific during the long haul from Australia to the Philippines over a period of more than three years.

Representing the 62d AW will be the maintainers from the 62d Maintenance Group and aircrew from the 7th Airlift Squadron flying the C-17 Globemaster III. The C-17 is capable of transporting troops, equipment and supplies across continents directly into combat.

The 62d AW and the combat airlift community they are a part of, is the lifeline of joint operations and the meaningful maneuver of the Joint Force.

Later in August, the 62d AW will combine the 7th AS, maintenance and aerial port airmen, and logistics readiness squadron counterparts from the 627th Air Base Group and form the 7th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, a Mission Generation Force Element.

The Air Force has operated with MGFEs for the last two years, so the 7th EAS is taking the blueprint of an MGFE and experimenting to operate with a lighter, leaner footprint to maximize the Mission Ready Airmen and Agile Combat Employment concepts.

Over the course of nearly two weeks, the 7th EAS will deploy, employ, sustain and redeploy their force, integrating with joint and coalition allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility in a simulated combat environment. The exercise incorporates proactive and reactive elements of ACE.

"We are committed to providing the most effective and combat credible maneuver element of the Joint Force," said U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick McClintock, 62d Operations Group commander. "This exercise is an opportunity for us to showcase our capabilities and demonstrate our tenacity."

McClintock continued explaining the 62d AW is not simply interested in developing mobility warfighters but interested in developing a combat capability and a mindset in its airmen that crosses organizational lines, creating the most lethal force on the planet, strengthened by its diversity and sharpened by the training incorporated into validation events just like this one.

The 7th EAS developed Operation KENNEY'S RETURN as a Joint and Coalition integrated, 62d AW planned and executed exercise construct to accomplish strategic, operational, and tactical Desired Learning Objectives for the 7th EAS and our joint maneuver force.

OKR touches on 62d AW successes such as the Rainier War series and Air Mobility Command initiatives, such as Mobility Guardian, to educate and train our capabilities. OKR is an opportunity to develop Mission Ready Airmen, generate readiness, project power, and provide insight on capability development-the four pillars that define our path forward.