USAFEC command team joins Devil Raiders

  • Published
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, Maj. Gen. John Klein, and the USAFEC command chief, Chief Master Sgt. Courtney Freeman, traveled to Travis Air Force Base to visit with the 621st Contingency Response Wing “Devil Raiders” Feb. 21, to see how they are advising, directing and projecting airpower.

During the visit, the leaders had the opportunity to experience a physical training session led by members of the 821st Contingency Response Squadron before making their way to the Global Readiness Deployment Center where they saw some of the tools and training the Devil Raiders receive to help them execute the full spectrum of contingency response operations.

“We want to expose Airmen to scenarios that are more extreme to prepare them for the future realities we may face,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Kiara Vance, 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron standardization and evaluation flight commander. “To quote Archilochus, ‘we don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training."'

As the day progressed, the commander and command chief met with Airmen to better understand how they’re preparing for expeditionary warfare prior to meeting with Airmen from the 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron to see how they provide deployable command and control capabilities.

The 321st AMOS emphasized the readiness Airmen go through to execute mobility-focused combat command and control at a moment’s notice and replicate theater Air Mobility Division capabilities from Travis AFB.

The USAFEC command team also had the opportunity to hold an all call to address Airmen and thank them for the progress they have made to accelerate change.

“When we released the Expeditionary Center strategy for this fiscal year, we emphasized the need to hone next-generation capabilities,” Klein said. “The Airmen of the 621st CRW have taken that charge and identified technologies they can leverage that give them better situational awareness and response capabilities when they explode into theater and establish the air base.”

The command chief echoed the commander’s sentiments.

“When the commander initiated the drive to forge warrior hearts, he was describing exactly what the Devil Raiders are doing,” Freeman said. “Through fitness, training and education, the Airmen of the 621st CRW are deliberately and intentionally fostering a culture that promulgates a spirit of connectedness and resilience. These are the Airmen that will fight, and win, if or when they are called upon to do so.”