CRW participates in NORAD exercise VIGILANT SHIELD

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  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
The 621st Contingency Response Wing honed their skills during exercise VIGILANT SHIELD in Fresno, Calif., Oct. 23 - 26.

Approximately 10 members of the 921st Contingency Response Squadron and the 821st Contingency Response Support Squadron stationed at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., supported the exercise along with approximately 129 members of the California Air National Guard's 144th Fighter Wing.

Exercise VIGILANT SHIELD is a yearly homeland defense exercise that provides an opportunity to exercise mission areas and train headquarters staffs, North American Aerospace Defense Command regions, and components on assigned missions.

During the exercise, the CRW conducted training in cargo support, passenger downloads, and aircraft tracking for C2 operations. More than 129 passengers and 121.9 Short tons of rolling stock and palletized cargo were moved during the exercise.

"We did everything from where to park the airplanes, times they were coming into Fresno, number of personnel and number of aircraft and what kind," said Master Sgt. Rodney Huffer, 921 CRS  contingency response team chief. "Additionally, we supported the 21st Airlift Squadron (stationed at Travis AFB) with loadmaster loading and engine running offload training."

According to Huffer, the exercise was a success because of the great teamwork with the 144th FW.

"They are great to work with," he said.  "They supported us with getting our training and real world requirements completed and we supported them in getting their mission completed. We have a good working relationship with the 144th FW and look forward to our continued working relationship."