ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Members of the 461st Air Control Wing rapidly dispersed to locations across the east coast as they participated in its first-ever Combat Readiness Exercise.
According to Lt. Col. John Miller, 461st ACW Inspector General, this CRE was one of the largest readiness exercises of any kind in its history. It demonstrated the wing’s ability to prepare and deploy war-winning battle management, expeditionary communications and combat airfield operations for Air Components.
“Unlike Air Force-planned large force exercises that test integration of its forces, a CRE focuses on a specific wing’s ability to execute its unique mission against pacing challenges, resulting in a formal readiness assessment by the wing Inspector General,” he said. “The lessons learned help senior leaders and unit commanders determine where best to allocate efforts and resources.”
The 461st ACW recently added new units in the form of the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron and the 5th Combat Communications Group, making the wing C3-capable: command, control and communications.
“The 461st ACW’s contingency-focused mission alignment uniquely positions the organization to embrace dynamic changes within any designated operating environment,” said Col. Adam Shelton, 461st ACW commander. “This CRE allows us to test our tactics, techniques and procedures in an extremely challenging, but realistic, scenario against a peer-to-peer threat to accomplish two goals: first – to assess and correct our weaknesses, and second – to learn valuable lessons about our resource capacity and training levels to strengthen techniques, tactics and procedures.”
For the first time ever, the 728th BMCS deployed multiple crews to the Eastern Air Defense Sector operations center as part of the exercise. This showcased the ability of both units to operate in short-notice continuity of operations scenarios to maintain critical mission-essential functions during technological failures.
“I’ve been on extremely short-notice deployments before, and I know the added difficulty that comes with a short planning window,” Miller said. “It was important to the planning team that we attempt to replicate the challenges of a short-notice deployment by sending our Airmen to places they’ve never been before without advanced warning as to who would be going and what they would be doing.”
Units from the 5th CCG showcased their ability to pack up, split up, and move at the drop of a hat and support operations from three different bases simultaneously. This was part of an Agile Combat Employment scheme of maneuver, which seeks to increase survivability by complicating the enemy’s targeting process and increase flexibility of friendly forces.
To assist with the short notice deployment scenario, Team Robins stepped up by having the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron assist with cargo pre-inspections, and the 78th Medical Group ensured all members being tasked were medically ready for the mission.
Also participating in the exercise was the 53rd Combat Airfield Operations Squadron, formerly known as the 53rd Air Traffic Control Squadron, with the 461st ACW. They were redesignated as 53rd CAOS in 2023 as part of the wing’s overall transformation and are the only active-duty combat airfield operations squadron in the Air Force.
“The 53rd Combat Airfield Operations Squadron again showed the power of its unique spectrum of airfield capabilities to enable air power domination from austere locations with little to no warning,” said Miller. “The CRE tested the members’ ability to operate in a highly contested environment and validated its Ready Airmen Training proficiency.
“In alignment with Defense Secretary (Pete) Hegseth’s priorities, the 461st ACW, as a whole, successfully showcased their ability to focus on lethality and readiness while maintaining standards and accountability during this exercise,” he continued. “The CRE accomplished its objectives by stress testing the people and mission of the 461st as our Airmen posture for any tasks and missions allocated to them now and in the future.”