Operations, maintenance Hone ACE skills

As the Air Force adapts to requirements brought about by the Great Power Competition, the Citizen Airman aircrews, maintainers, and other supporting personnel of the Air Force Reserve’s 403rd Wing are constantly proving that they are up to task when it comes to Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. David W. Allvin’s vision for ‘Mission-Ready Airmen’ capable of ‘Agile Combat Employment.’

In today’s strategic environment, the Air Force can no longer expect to operate from fixed bases in permissive environments against an adversary that will select the time and place of engagement. Agile Combat Employment will shift generation of airpower from large, centralized bases to networks of smaller, dispersed locations.

This type of operations strategy is something the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and other factions of the 403rd Operations, Maintenance, and Mission Support Groups know all too well.

The unpredictable, uncooperative adversary: weather.

“The 53rd (Weather Reconnaissance Squadron) probably does agile combat employment better than anybody,” said Lt. Col. Steve Burton, 403rd Operations Group deputy commander. “They can deploy, fly missions, and once a storm is out of range, they pick up and move to a different location without compromising the mission.”

With as little as 16 hours’ notice, in support of the National Hurricane Operations Plan, the squadron of reservists can be called upon to fly missions into storms ranging anywhere from Bermuda to Hawaii to Newfoundland to Curacao. The vast area of responsibility paired with the inability to plan for weather requires the 403rd Wing to be able to call on a 65 to 72-person deployment package with little time for preparation and be capable of coordination and interoperability to ensure a mission can be sustained from wherever it is based out of.

“The NHOP requirements also dictate that we have at least three aircraft per tasking and be able to support up to three concurrent taskings and 24-hour operations capabilities,” said Burton.

An operations setup such as this takes a village--a ready one.

For the Hurricane Hunters’ most recent tasking they were given 16-hour notice that they were to deploy to Hawaii to support flights into then-Tropical Depression 1C.

In an eight-day span, Aug. 21- 28, the squadron designated four aircraft and aircrews, a maintenance package, aerial transport specialists for onloading and offloading equipment, aircrew flight equipment personnel, and more, and headed to Hawaii where they stood up operations and flew five missions into Hurricane Hone before packing up and arriving back home.

“That deployment showcases how moving operations and equipment toward the Pacific in support of the Great Power Competition can be done,” said Burton. “The entire operation was self-sufficient, without the support of outside agencies.”

Considering the invaluable impact the mission provides to forecasters and residents affected by the atmospheric data collected during the 53rd WRS’s missions, this is a “no-fail” mission for maintenance.

“Due to the necessity for the mission to succeed, this operations tempo sets the stage for agile combat employment for us,” said Maj. Christine Manson, 403rd AMXS commander. “We take small teams on the road who are able and willing to deploy and redeploy on short notice, and they do whatever it takes to get the mission done safely.”

With Hawaii and Hone in the rearview, weather is continuing to march to the beat of its own drum and the members of the 403rd Wing’s sights are now likely set on the Atlantic as an area of disturbance in the central Tropical Atlantic shows signs of potential cyclone formation.

If necessary, personnel will coordinate with forecasters at the National Hurricane Center and Chief, Aerial Reconnaissance Coordination, All Hurricanes, referred to as CARCAH, to determine the best deployed location and a mission commander and maintenance lead will begin preparing for operations once again. This preparation happens fast and requires ensuring access to a 24-hour airfield and nearby lodging and transportation solutions.

“There’s a lot of logistics and coordination that go into a mission like this, but because we do it so often, the ability to carry it out stays fresh and we have the processes down,” said Burton.

While the mission offers its fair share of challenges, Burton and Manson said the best thing any unit can do to support a mission of uncertainty is to emphasize mission-readiness as it pertains to personnel and equipment.

“We are proud of our training plan and year-round readiness to support hurricane season and winter operations, but we believe that an aspect of ‘Mission-Ready Airmen’ is a mindset,” said Manson. “The maintainers, and everybody involved, have a can-do attitude and are willing and able to jump in where needed. Their teamwork and commitment to each other and the mission are inspiring. It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of maintaining the WC-130J fleet and enabling the 53rd WRS.”