Group Readiness Program team reports on unit preparedness

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Luther Mitchell
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  

Advise, Direct and Project Airpower ... Anytime, Anywhere! That is the 621st Contingency Response Wing’s mission. To achieve this requires Devil Raiders to be ready when duty calls.

The 621st Contingency Response Group Readiness Program team is responsible for tracking that readiness and the ability to execute the mission it was created for.

The GRP team is responsible for reporting on the readiness and availability of CRG forces and the ability to meet mission taskings. They use multiple training and reporting systems, but mainly the Air and Space Expeditionary Force Reporting Tool and the Defense Readiness Reporting System.

“Reporting assessments allow commanders to see where they are lacking or what to focus on in the coming months,” said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Tanghare, 621st CRG GRP manager. “It also gives leadership options on how they can use us.”

A normal day for the GRP team consists of pulling training information from AEF online and the Graduate Training Integration Management System, viewing Alpha rosters for deployment availability codes, and incorporating changes from squadron leaders.

“The day to day can be very tedious, making sure every unit type code is accurately accounted for and systems are correctly being updated to reflect accurate information,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Jones, 321st Contingency Response Squadron unit deployment manager.

UTCs are the basic building block used in joint force planning and deployments of AEFs. The 621st CRG reports on more than 400 personnel made up of 28 different UTCs.

“Inside the systems we update, UTCs are broken down to reflect whether they are fully mission capable, partially mission capable or not mission capable,” Jones said.

The readiness reporting program is covered in Air Force Instruction 10-201; however, not many people are aware the program exists.

“The readiness program is not talked about, and to be honest, I do not think a lot of people know what we do, and the enormous amount of work that goes into it,” Jones said.

The GRP gives members another perspective on CRG operations and the value each member brings to the mission.

“I like being able to see the big picture of what we do,” Tanghare said. “It’s easy to get lost in what our mission is in the CRG when we are in our individual jobs training. Doing this reporting lets me see why each specific job or piece of equipment matters and how it can mean the difference between a successful mission or a failed mission.”