AMEDEE ARMY AIR FIELD, Calif. -- Airmen assigned to the 821st Contingency Response Group exercised their ability to execute and sustain rapid global mobility throughout California during exercise Cerberus Strike April 26 through May 7.
Cerberus Strike, also known as C-Strike, is a contingency response-centric joint mobility exercise that takes place over an 11-day timeframe. The exercise provided contingency response forces the opportunity to rehearse potential real-world situations in a joint environment by training in aerial port procedures, aircraft engine running off-loads, and cargo uploading and downloading.
“This has been an amazing experience,” said Maj. Ian Granier, 921st Contingency Response Squadron and the contingency response element commander. “The 921st CRS had an exceptional opportunity to come out here and test the skills they have been developing over the past year. The team has exceeded our expectations working in an austere environment and handling a different number of unique threats.”
The unit also used the exercise to test their knowledge in post-attack reconnaissance sweeps, administering self-aid and buddy care and their ability to react, defend and execute operations during simulated wartime events - such as hazardous material decontamination, as well as missile and ground attacks.
“We planned our exercise around possible real-world events and created scenarios that our Airmen might face on deployments in the CRW,” Granier said. “They did a really good job. We will continue to build upon what we learned here and better our force.”
Contingency response forces are self-sufficient and can deploy with all the personnel, equipment and supplies to execute the mission, which makes them valuable to Air Mobility Command’s rapid global mobility mission.
“The contingency response mission set is not only unique to the Air Force, but the Department of Defense as a whole,” Grainer said. “We have the capability to go to an austere location and be self sufficient with a relatively small foot print and that requires our personnel to be proficient at there job as well as others.”
Exercises like C-Strike are important for contingency response Airmen because they provide an opportunity for them to work out any potential issues in a training environment.
Master Sgt. Joseph Swafford contributed to the story.