Mobility commander visits U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center

  • Published
  • By Captain Tom Wenz
  • U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  On the final leg of his first trip since taking the reins of Air Mobility Command, Gen. Raymond E. Johns Jr., AMC commander, was welcomed by Brig. Gen. Rick Devereaux, commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center here. General Johns' visit gave him a feel for the place that many combat support Airmen look to for advanced expeditionary training.

Following a quick mission briefing, it was out of the conference room and on to the range where Expeditionary Center "black hat" instructors of the 421st Combat Training Squadron demonstrated the training Airmen receive. General Johns was briefed by Capt. Andrew Cullipher on future field training area construction upgrades coming to the Expeditionary Center, and Tech. Sgts. Jonathan Tourville and Jeffery Knight gave an overview of the Combat Airman Skills Training Course and the security forces Phoenix Warrior Training Course.

Tech. Sgts. Shaylin Butler and William Gaskins described the specialized training security forces members get in the Tactical Security Element and Military Working Dog courses, and Capt. Matthew Garvelink gave an overview of the 421st CTS armory, home of the largest non-traditional weapons cache in the Air Force.

"We support training in all of the courses at the Expeditionary Center and some additional tenant unit courses," said Captain Garvelink. "That adds up to more than 10,000 students per year and more than 1.4 million rounds expended while training."

A group of more than a dozen 421st cadre rolled through in up-armored high-mobility, multi-wheeled vehicles, or HMMWVs, demonstrating Airmen on alert for signs of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Under simulated attack, the Expeditionary Center instructors showed the general how they train for mounted patrol operations, perform combat first aid under fire and respond to attacks in kind as appropriate.

General Johns, who last served in AMC nearly nine years ago, said they didn't have this kind of training when he was last part of the command.

"There is a huge difference and value in what you're doing," he said. "The greatest gift you are giving is confidence that their training will keep them alive and keep their buddies alive. You have to be adaptive because we're in an environment that the enemy is adaptive."

With the field craft demonstrations complete, the group returned to the Expeditionary Center campus and a demonstration of how the Mobility Operations School leverages technology in training. Master Sgt. Scott Krzysik showed the "pro super" maintenance simulator for flightline managers and Master Sgt. Joseph Neubauer gave the general hands on "port dog" aerial port training as he used the pallet building simulator.

The next stop was a training facility known informally as the IHOP, or "International House of Pain," where Tech. Sgt. James Chubb described the self defense ground fighting skills security forces students were learning. These are skills they need to survive as graduates of the Phoenix Raven and Flyaway Security Team, or FAST, courses.

General Johns then saw the latest in mobile command, control and communication as Expeditionary Center instructors extolled the virtues and versatility of the Hard-sided Expandable Lightweight Air Mobile Shelter, the Small Package Initial Communication Element, as well as outlining what students learn in the Contingency Response Mission Orientation Course.

The general said he was impressed at how the mission has developed and evolved from the days of the Tactical Airlift Control Element, or TALCE, to the Contingency Response Wing. "The CRG and CRW construct is one of the terms most used in expanding the capability of our Air Force," said General Johns. Airmen who are part of those units, he said, "are one of the first Americans a nation will see."

General Johns also met with the 2010 class of 16 field grade officers earning a master's degree in the Expeditionary Center's Advanced Study of Air Mobility Course -- a 16-month program. In wrapping up the visit, the Expeditionary Center commander presented General Johns with a memento of his visit.

"We are proud to showcase the instructors and staff who work so hard to build airpower...from the ground up," General Devereaux said. "Our Airmen appreciate the time you've taken to recognize the enormous contributions they make to enabling our expeditionary Air Force."

Addressing the Expeditionary Center staff, General Johns recalled the contingency training he received in the early part of his career -- a series of training certificates signifying currency and competency in that skill. "That didn't really mean I had the confidence to take it into a hostile environment and be successful with it," the general said.

"Every commander in our command, and in our Air Force, who sends their people through your school can look that family in the eye and say to a mom and dad or to a husband or wife and to the kids, 'I've given that military member the best training I can, the best set of skills that I can, as they go off and do the nation's bidding.' That gives them the best chance of coming back successfully to their family after their tour," said General Johns.

"I'm really pleased to see this evolution in our command and in our Air Force and to see how well you do it. It really is an honor to come and see this...and I will be back."