JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --
The commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center here visited the 621st Contingency Response Wing Oct. 2.
Maj. Gen. Frederick "Rick" Martin, who has prior U.S Air Force contingency response experience from his time commanding the 615th Air Mobility Operations Group at Travis Air Force Base from 2002-2003, spent the entire day touring the CRW, meeting the Airmen and observing a capabilities demo at its Global Reach Deployment Center. He also hosted a commander's call for all JBMDL-assigned CRW Airmen.
"I had an opportunity to talk to the members of the air mobility operations squadron and the contingency response groups," Martin said of his visit. "Just spending time with you and learning about what you are doing, it's encouraging to see how far we've come since I left."
According to Martin, the biggest change in the way the CRW conducts its mission is how some qualifications were standardized with our U.S. Army equivalent forces and joined under U.S. Transportation Command to create the Joint Task Force - Port Opening mission.
"We've always had an alert force, but now it's connected to the joint world and partnered with the Army response force so we can go in and open up a base," he said. "It's a joint capability we didn't have when I was in the air mobility operations group.
"We have airfield opening teams that are more capable and an air mobility advisory squadron with Airmen who are providing a train, advise, and assist type of role that we did not have back then. Now we receive language training and specialized advisory education for our Airmen who go out and represent the U.S. Air Force to foreign air forces."
With these core skills, Martin explained the toolbox of choices the CRW provides to commanders.
"If you're going to open up a base and you want to make a difference in a country and provide mobility capability and other platforms outside of the mobility world, then CR is your answer," explained Martin. "There is a lot that we can do in the CRW, and that's what we bring to the fight. The CRW's ability to 'answer the call' anytime and anywhere is a powerful commodity."
When asked what his vision and leadership focus for the CRW is in a budget constrained environment, Martin sees the CRW mission keeping its current size, if not growing, while working hard to become as efficient as possible.
"We've tightened the noose and we've had to restrict our spending," said Martin. "It's forcing us to prioritize our mission sets, training and to make the most of the training we have. Smaller units with bigger impact and flexibility are what we may need more of in the future.
"I see joint training opportunities being a key component," he continued. "We already work with the Army, but they are under the same budget constraints as they work to maintain readiness and qualifications. It's good to see we are finding training opportunities right here in our back yard at JBMDL or at Travis AFB to get the most out of our limited resources."
According to Martin, he enjoyed seeing his journey come full circle.
"It's been an honor to come back and see the pride, professionalism, and the passion that comes through our CR teams," he said. "What you do in the CR world is largely about the relationships built upon trust - trust among our Airmen, service partners and also with the foreign militaries. And that trust is critical, and you all do that exceptionally well."