3d AS takes part in 2 West Coast exercises

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – A C-17 Globemaster III, operated by the 3d Airlift Squadron, took part in two separate exercises at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Nellis AFB, Nevada, June 5-12, 2017.

These two exercises, Operation Rainier War and Joint Forcible Entry, improve broad-spectrum mission readiness and interoperability between the Army and the Air Force.

“For us, it was one off-station trainer,” said Capt. Michael Knapp, 3d AS Training and Tactics Flight commander. “Some of the things we did, we can’t do on local training missions.”

The first exercise, Operation Rainier War, transported an Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) via C-17s from JBLM to Fort Hunter Liggett, California. The purpose of the exercise was to demonstrate the forcible entry capabilities of the C-17 and HIMARS launchers as an operational and strategic strike package in support of combatant commanders.

This particular training mission consisted of loading the HIMARS and a Fire Directions Center Truck onto a McChord C-17 and flying from JBLM to Fort Hunter Liggett. As soon as the aircraft landed, the HIMARS and Fire Directions Center Truck unload. The HIMARS moves to the firing point, receives the fire mission and sends six rockets downrange within 20 minutes.

Afterwards, both vehicles reload the aircraft and return to JBLM. The Dover C-17 did not transport a HIMARS, but instead moved one of its support vehicles. This exercise featured C-17s from Dover AFB, JBLM and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

“Obviously loading cargo is what we do,” said Tech. Sgt. DJ Garber, 3d AS loadmaster. “But we were put into environments we weren’t used to. We had ground times of about 45 minutes, so that’s 25 minutes for an upload.”

The second exercise, Joint Forcible Entry, took place at Nellis AFB. It featured C-17, C-130 Hercules and fighter jet aircraft from more than 10 Air Force installations around the country. The exercise was put on by the C-17 Weapons School, as part of its students’ capstone. This exercise practiced rapid forcible entry into semi-prepared runways, or in other words, dirt airfields.

According to both Knapp and Garber, the lessons learned from the first exercise were implemented within days for the second exercise.

“It was a great benefit to have both exercises back to back,” said Knapp. “It caused everyone to get outside of their comfort bubble, and to learn what other players do overall.”

Knapp concluded that the exercises were a success for the 3d AS crew with many takeaways and lessons learned for future operations.

“We did things we don’t do often,” Knapp said. “We got to interact with the Army with their upload, which is not something we see often. We see their rolling stock all the time, but it’s unusual to practice with this type of cargo.”

Knapp also stated that everything they did during these exercises were 100 percent compatible with real-world scenarios downrange.

“Like he said, 100 percent,” said Garber. “It helps us better prepare. Now that we’ve been through these situations, we understand what to recognize in the future.”