U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY -- A complex and ever-changing global security environment is transforming the way the U.S. Air Force will develop, deploy and employ combat forces and capabilities to defend the United States, allies and partner nations around the world.
By training “Mission Ready Airmen,” the Air Force can leverage their diverse expertise to enhance overall mission success with a “mission over function” mindset.
“I think ‘Mission Ready Airmen’ isn’t intended to impugn the Airmen today as though they are not mission ready, but the idea is that the mission that they will need to accomplish goes beyond their specified task or their specialty or their function,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin in a video posted to the Air Force’s social media accounts. “So ‘Mission Ready’ is beyond your technical expertise and moving to where you can understand the environment you are in, the empowerment you need, and the other things to get the mission accomplished. I think Airmen are multi-capable by design, but this is orienting them toward the mission, going beyond just the function.”
The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing put that philosophy into practice with Airmen from eight different units, comprising 10 unique career fields collaborating with Soldiers to palletize critical supply shipments in support of Ukraine’s defense efforts and regional partners, showcasing joint force cooperation.
A team of 55 Airmen helped build and transport aircraft pallets. For many of them, it was their first time working with pallets. These Airmen were trained on the spot by air transportation specialist Airmen assigned to the 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, gaining additional skills and competencies essential in creating Mission Ready Airmen.
“There are formidable threats to the United States and our partners across the globe,” said a U.S. Airman assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. “We also live in a world where there are elements of uncertainty. To help overcome these challenges and stay ahead of the curve, it is important that we as leaders take the time to train Airmen who can adapt to the evolving changes in the stages of war.”
The first stage involved Soldiers carefully documenting and preparing supplies for transport. They then placed the boxes on wooden pallets, each pallet carrying a cargo load of nine to 12 boxes, 200 pounds per box.
Airmen then transferred the wooden pallets onto metal aircraft pallets for transportation. From there, the supplies were transferred or airlifted to U.S. partners across the region.
“Expediting these [supplies] not only helps our sister services and our partners across Europe,” said a U.S. Airman assigned to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. “It also increases the Wing’s capabilities to further deter aggression within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.”
As global conflicts continue to evolve, new challenges have emerged. To meet those challenges, 379th AEW Airmen, and Airmen at large, will require a mix of skills needed for wartime operational mission readiness.