Phase II ORE kicks off

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sondra Escutia
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  A week-long operational readiness exercise kicked off June 15 as a way for 49th Fighter Wing Airmen to hone their expeditionary skills and prepare them for deployments. 

Most 49th Fighter Wing squadrons were called forth to participate and work from a simulated base on the northwestern part of Holloman. 

"We've put up expeditionary shelters and each of the wing and many of the staff agencies from across the base are represented here giving a full spectrum of a Basic Expeditionary Airfield Resources base environment," said Maj. Nathan Clemmer, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron operations flight chief. 

The simulated deployed location, Base X, also known as the civil engineer pit, was set up in advance to mimic the area of responsibility for today's Air Force. 

"The setup is similar to what you would see upon initial entry into a country with very limited capabilities before sustainment operations begin," said 2nd Lt. Tanner Smith, the 49th Civil Engineer Squadron executive officer during the exercise. 

Before the exercise began, Airmen from each squadron did their part to make the simulated base as real as possible. The 49 CES established the entry control point of the gate and assembled the infrastructure. 

"The planning for this exercises started months ago, however the main construction of the CE pit started in the last week when we paraded a lot of the areas, set up all of the tents and provided environmental control systems on all of them," said Maj. Clemmer. 

The 49th Communications Squadron laid down wires for phones and computer, the 49th Security Forces Squadron build defensive fighting positions around the pit, the 49th Force Support Squadron established a dining facility and the 49th Logistics Readiness Squadron set up vehicle control, he said. 

A simulated runway was also on hand to allow Airmen to perform airfield damage repair. 

One advantage of being at Holloman, said Maj. Clemmer, is its environmental resemblance to the AOR. 

"It's windy, dusty, hot and we're working out of tents," he said. "We have the environment that mimics pretty close to where we'll be [while deployed]." 

With these conditions, Airmen effectively demonstrate their skill sets and learn more in the process.

"I can already see Airmen picking up new skills and refreshing the training they've had in basic training," Maj. Clemmer said. "We're out here actually applying what we've learned and in a year or two, when we have an operational readiness inspection, we'll be running and ready to go. We will shine as a wing and this training is key to that." 

Check out the website throughout the week for more photos and stories on the exercise.