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36th Wing conducts ORE to assess mission readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Shane Dunaway
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam --  Airmen, civilians, and contractors from the 36th Wing at Andersen Air Force Base participated in an Operational Readiness Exercise at the base Oct 20-23. Over 120 Inspector General Evaluation Team members, under the direction of Maj. David Wall, 36th Wing Inspector General, conducted oversight of this important four day test. 

The exercise is the first of five total OREs scheduled every two months to prepare base units for its critical PACAF directed Operational Readiness Inspection in Summer 2010. The goal of the ORI is to ensure that the 36th Wing is operationally ready and certified to conduct their assigned mission in support of 13th Air Force, Pacific Air Forces and United States Pacific Command. 

"Conducting an Operational Readiness Exercise at Andersen Air Force Base is a very diverse and important task," said Brig. Gen. Phil Ruhlman, 36th Wing commander. "We receive and deploy forces while we simultaneously conducting humanitarian assistance, disaster response and contingency readiness. All of these can happen in very close succession, which generates a very high ops tempo for the wing. It's a very complex and challenging problem set."

During the ORE, evaluators conducted tasks to test Airmen base-wide on their ability to receive and deploy civilian and military personnel and equipment and to launch combat aircraft while under attack.

"We're looking to see if everyone reacts with a sense of urgency [during the scenarios], that everyone is knowledgeable about their role and if the response is handled in a timely manner," Major Wall said.

The IG office and its team members work closely with wing leadership to tailor the exercises to test appropriate areas.

The multiple mission sets, such as deploying the 36th Contingency Response Group, conducting Continuous Bomber Presence and protecting base assets from terrorist attack, create real-world challenges for the Airmen who are expected to respond under pressure.

"It's the most challenging exercise environment I've seen in 30 years," General Ruhlman said. "The amount of communication required for success is critical. Every Airman in that communication chain is pivotally important."

"The wing's performance was superb ... lots of lessons learned but a truly phenomenal effort demonstrating our readiness" General Ruhlman said.