Scott Air Force Base, Ill. -- The Final Planning Conference in preparation for Air Mobility Command’s premier, large-scale mobility exercise, Mobility Guardian 2019, concluded June 14 at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.
Mobility Guardian is scheduled to take place Sept. 8 – 28 and provides a realistic training environment for more than 2,500 Airmen, joint and international partners to hone their skills and keep a competitive edge in current and future conflicts.
A total of three planning conferences occurred to collaborate and finalize the logistics and organization of events for Airmen from 47 wings along with 26 allies and partners to determine innovative scenarios that will be used during the exercise.
“Mobility Airmen must be prepared to deliver rapid global mobility now and in the future,” said Gen. Maryanne Miller, Air Mobility Command commander. “Through robust and relevant training, Mobility Guardian is designed to build full spectrum readiness, adding additional layers of complexity to conduct operations in contested, degraded and operationally-limited environments.”
This year’s exercise has evolved to test forces against new scenarios replicating current threats as well as any higher-end threats they may face in the future, including an expanded aeromedical evacuation scenario and an exercise environment that involves operations when communications are contested.
The modification of the exercise takes the lessons learned from Mobility Guardian 2017 to move Mobility Guardian forward, challenging aircrew training tables across multiple airframes to ensure U.S. and international forces are prepared and able to accomplish the mission.
“This exercise promotes globally-minded mobility operations through partnerships,” Miller said. “We’ll bring together partners from more than two dozen nations to train like we fight, while enhancing the vital relationships we rely on to accomplish the mission.”
This year’s exercise will be hosted by the 92nd and 141st Air Refueling Wings located at Fairchild Air Force Base, Spokane, Washington.
“Team Fairchild Airmen are excited and ready to host Air Mobility Command’s most robust exercise,” said Col. Derek Salmi, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander. “Global Reach is only possible because of the dedication and expertise of our Airmen in delivering cargo, personnel, fuel and lifesaving care anywhere around the world. Mobility Guardian will put all of these capabilities - and more - to the test as we train with our joint and international partners to operate in contested environments together.”
More than 60 aircraft comprised of 10 different airframes are scheduled to participate in the exercise.
“Our mobility Airmen are always ready and we continue to exercise them to keep our competitive edge,” Miller said.