SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- -- The 52nd Fighter Wing hosted a readiness exercise here March 23-26, testing the base population’s response to a variety of potential scenarios.
“A readiness exercise has a few goals,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. James Broncheau, 52nd Fighter Wing inspector general, director of inspections. “First, to give the wing commander an assessment of how ready his wing is to respond to any given situation. Second, it’s a chance for Airmen to gain exposure to different scenarios and how their particular job functions tie in when we respond to a situation as a wing.”
Spangdahlem AB had to incorporate the real-world COVID-19 situation, which played a part in the emphasis and outcome of the exercise.
“Our focus is understanding how real-world events are impacting us,” said Broncheau. “We continued the exercise to show that we are still here and mission ready.”
Various guidelines were practiced during the exercise to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
“We have implemented steps to ensure our members’ safety such as using telework and physical distancing,” said Broncheau. “It is a chance for us to observe and understand exactly where those measures will really impact us and what we will need to do to modify our normal behavior to continue to be mission ready.”
Broncheau stated that the exercise gives the wing an opportunity to receive feedback when they run into challenging situations, and to gain those lessons learned. He said the main thing is to take steps toward staying safe and healthy, learn from mistakes, and then get better as a result.
Though the exercise was cut short, the 52nd FW commander said it was a job well done.
“I want to congratulate you on a tremendous exercise, thank you for devoting yourselves to making you, your fellow Airmen, and our wing more combat-capable,” said U.S. Air Force Col. David Epperson, 52nd FW commander. “Your leadership team and I are proud and humbled to watch you rise to the occasion to innovate methods and successfully conduct wartime operations in a COVID-19 contagion environment, while pushing Agile Combat Employment to the next level of execution.”