Home Plate 25-1 Published Nov. 26, 2024 By Lt. Col. Bradlee Seehawer 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- 3…2…1…Fight’s On! With a collective clap the Air Mobility Division (AMD) Chief ends the initial sync brief. It’s Friday, the start of Home Plate 25-1, and the Masterminds of the 321st Air Mobility Operations Squadron and the Wyverns of the 349th Air Mobility Operations Squadrons are gathered to understand the scenario. An enemy is advancing across Europe and Rapid Global Mobility needs to deliver effects to the joint warfighter. As usual, the 321 AMOS and 349 AMOS have come together to practice their deployed roles in the Air Operations Center weapons system. The exercise is bracketed around the 349th Air Mobility Wing Unit Training Assemblies; Home Plate takes a break over the weekend so the 349th can accomplish annual training requirements that come along with being a citizen airman. The exercise will resume on Monday, the Wyverns teaching the active-duty Masterminds advanced techniques that come from sometimes decades of experience working in the AMD. The building is alive with activity in a way that’s usually only seen in theater during an exercise or contingency. 3…2…1…Fight’s On! The team hits the ground running on Monday. To go faster, the Masterminds have leveraged outside help to make Home Plate more robust, reaching out to the Command and Control Weapons System Part Task Trainer Scenario Development Team at the 505th Combat Training Squadron to help develop the scenario and prepare products. Typically tasked to support high-fidelity operational exercises like BLUE FLAG and WARFIGHTER, the team appreciated the opportunity to plan an exercise focused on air mobility. “[The 505th was] a key component in our scenario development process,” Capt. Chris Marookian, 321AMOS Plans flight commander and exercise planner said. “Their expertise and experience provided our team with a comprehensive exercise that enables us to navigate complex challenges. Their hard work and dedication provided our C2 professionals with the pivotal training that enables us to hone our skills for the next fight.” 3…2…1…Fight’s On! By Tuesday the airlift, air refueling, and aeromedical evacuation missions were flowing, but not without issues. In the contested environments of Great Power Competition, the enemy gets a vote, too. In this case, the enemy was portrayed by the members of the 621st Air Mobility Operations Squadron who came to Travis Air Force Base to run the Exercise Control Group. The Mobsters, who have a long-running exercise series of their own, Internal Flex, volunteered to send some subject matter experts to the 321 AMOS to free up Masterminds to instruct and participate in the exercise. With a squadron of approximately 65 people across six different AOC qualifications, an additional few people can contribute a lot to Home Plate. “We brought a team of experts from the Mobsters to help plan and inject challenges into the HOME PLATE exercise scenario,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Goldstein, 621 AMOS operations officer said. “We even introduced a complicated last-minute order that we deemed impossible to execute, but the Masterminds and Wyverns expertly solved the problem. Overall, we had a great experience at Home Plate and believe that we learned far more than we contributed.” 3…2…1…Fight’s On! On Wednesday the AMD convenes a Threat Working Group to discuss a missile threat to an airlift base. This is where the difference between an operational level and a tactical level exercise is most evident: rather than talking about how the aircraft will deny, degrade, or destroy the threat, the team discusses risk acceptance and mitigation within the command relationships (COMREL) of the aircraft tasked by the Air Mobility Division. With more demand for air mobility than available aircraft, AMC serves as the global integrator, delegating tasking authority, basing authority, or risk acceptance authority to other theaters depending on the situation. Understanding COMREL is a unique challenge for operational level mobility planners, one that doesn’t have the same visual appeal as jinking and diving around a threat ring but is equally important. “Identifying and mitigating risk is the key task of the AMD Threat Working Group” Master Sgt. Kamron Wyant, 621st Contingency Response Wing Intelligence superintendent said. “Mobility missions must be executed within the appropriate acceptable level of risk to address risk to mission and risk to force. Intelligence and tactics personnel analyze the threats and hazards to recommend mitigation measures to ensure the safety of mobility operations.” 3…2…1…Fight’s On! By Thursday the exercise culminates with a decisive victory for the team and the welcome call of ENDEX. The AMD gathers to recognize superior performers and immediately start work on Home Plate 25-2. At a recent senior leader panel discussion, Gen. Johnny Lamontagne, Air Mobility Command commander, stressed the importance of exercises as means of rehearsal in an era of Great Power Competition. During the same panel he acknowledged the need for better integration between the 618th and theater AOCs. As AMC units who deploy to support theater priorities, the 321 AMOS is already well-versed in that kind of integrated command and control: unparalleled operational mobility planners ready to control and win the global high-end fight. “The goal for Home Plate was to familiarize members with theater AOC systems and prepare our team for real world deployments,” Maj. Stephen Lin, 321 AMOS exercise planner said. “As our Home Plate exercises expand, the 321 AMOS team will continue to practice federated operations from home station and integrate with international partners to bolster global AMD readiness.” 3…2…1…Fight’s On!