A look back at my time in the CR

U.S. Staff Sgt. Ryan Holmes, middle, 621st Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter, stands on a movie set of “Black Hawk Down” in Kenitra, Morroco. Holmes was sent on a temporary deployment with the 821st Air Mobility Squadron to joint inspect and redeploy U.S. Army Helicopters used in making the movie (courtesy photo).

A look back at my time in the CR

A C-17 Globemaster aircraft awaits deployment at Managua International Airport, Nicaragua. A 621st Air Mobility Operations Group mission support team deployed to Nicaragua in response to Hurricane Mitch to provide natural disaster relief to the local populous. (courtesy photo taken by Staff Sgt. Ryan Holmes)

A look back at my time in the CR

Senior Airman Ryan Holmes, second from right, 621st Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter, returns from a temporary deployment at Taszar Air Base, Hungary, Nov. 15, 1998. Holmes was supporting Operation Joint Forge, a NATO military operation that supported Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1998 to 2004. (courtesy photo)

A look back at my time in the CR

Senior Airman Ryan Holmes, 621st Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter, awaits passengers at the Passenger Service Center on Taszar Air Base, Hungary. Holmes was deployed to Taszar AB for Operation Joint Forge, a NATO military operation that supported Bosnia-Hezegovina from 1998 to 2004. (courtesy photo)

A look back at my time in the CR

A MH-53 helicopter being refueled during Operation Guardian Retrieval, April 9, 1997. Senior Airman Ryan Holmes, a 621st Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter, was a part of a mission support team that traveled to different airfields in/around U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility and conducted air-refueling to MH-53 helicopters in Atlantic Ocean off African coast. (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Senior Airman Ryan Holmes)

A look back at my time in the CR

U.S. Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Turner, second from right, 621st Air Mobility Operations Group aerial porter, poses with a group of people during Operation Guardian Retrieval in Brazzaville, Congo, March 27, 1997. Operation Guardian Retrieval was a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) that took place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1997. (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Senior Airman Ryan Holmes)

A look back at my time in the CR

A Tanker Airlift Control Element (TALCE) during Operation Guardian Retrieval at Maya Maya International Airport, Brazzaville, Congo, March 26, 1997. Operation Guardian Retrieval was a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) that took place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1997. (U.S. Air Force photo taken by Senior Airman Ryan Holmes)

A look back at my time in the CR

Published Jan. 28, 2025
By Mr. Ryan Holmes
621st Contingency Response Wing

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --

I have a storied history with the 621^st Contingency Response Wing and I am very grateful to tell it. Joining this mobility unit as a young Airman in late fall of 1994, I didn’t know what to expect since I wasn’t going to be on the flightline everyday loading cargo planes which was what I was trained to do. I quickly learned that being part of the contingency response force answered the internal question of job importance and provided clarity on what was now expected of me.

My first contingency response assignment was with the new 621^st Aerial Port Squadron in the 621^st Air Mobility Operations Group which is now the 621^st Contingency Response Wing present day. Traveling in the 621 AMOG and being at the tip of the spear in air mobility gave me a firsthand experience as to why my job is important. Whether it was for humanitarian efforts and assisting those in need, to ensuring the safety and security of our Air Force, the 621 AMOG was in the fight and I loved it!

I loved it so much so that I didn’t want to leave – and I didn’t.

I stayed in the unit for 10 years being a part of a multitude of operations; Desert Shield, Operation Bright Star exercises in Egypt, dozens of Joint Readiness Training Center exercises, and a multitude of aerial port-centric trainings across the world.

I played a part in Operation Enduring Freedom, landing boots on the ground Jan. 1, 2002, at Bagram Air Base with the transfer from mission support team to “TALCE,” Tanker Airlift Control Element operations. Also, I was on the fourth “TALCE” team aircraft into Iraq, opening Talill Air Base. The stories are endless!

During that decade, I experienced the transition from being in the air mobility operations group to the contingency response wing while conducting a non-combatant evacuation order in Africa in March 1997. I didn’t know which unit I was going to be assigned to upon my return. I came home to being part of the 821^st Air Mobility Squadron’s Phoenixes. Then my tenure with the 621 CRW came to end with a change of assignment in 2004 to teach our “port dawgs” at the U.S. Expeditionary Center -- former Air Mobility Warfare Center -- and further on to overseas duty.

Fast forward nine years and there I was, back in the 621 CRW in 2013. This time as a senior noncommissioned officer, part of the 819^th Global Support Squadron for about 18 months. This role allowed me to support our fellow Devil Raiders and “get them out the door” on missions.

I supported many events and partied to another organizational change. I left the CR again right at the time of swapping patches from the 819^th Global Support Squadron in the 621^st Contingency Operations Support Group to the 621^st Contingency Response Support Squadron in the new 621^st Contingency Response Group.

And now in the last chapter, I rejoined the CR as a civilian in March, 2021 as your manpower and organization management analyst. I am privileged to manage the intricacies of organizational changes versus just being part of it and swapping patches. What a fun journey it has been and continues to be!