Robins hosts Open Skies Treaty exercise Published Jan. 7, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The Russians recently visited Robins, sort of. In late December, the base played host to an exercise for the Open Skies Treaty. To promote trust, the treaty allows signatory nations to, upon request, fly over and photograph each other's military installations. The exercise involved U.S. military members - including Navy, Army and Air Force personnel - from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The unit works to counter the threat of weapons of mass destruction around the world, and escorts Opens Skies visitors to U.S. installations. Also participating were aircraft maintainers from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Some members of the team played the role of Russians on an Open Skies visit. It allowed those who escort delegations to test their knowledge of the protocol and negotiations involved, said Maj. Keith Oki, deputy mission commander. The group of about 32 - including the maintainers, escorts and the "Russians" - arrived at Robins one day and travelled the next to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Robin serves as a refueling point for Open Skies visits. While stopovers here are less frequent today, at one time Robins hosted as many as two or three Russian visits a year.