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15th Wing airmen support Army's training exercise Lightning Forge

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Aaron Oelrich
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
2/2/2015 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  The 647th Logistics Readiness Squadron and 535th Airlift Squadron conducted two resupply air drops in support of the 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, exercise Lightning Forge.

The air drop was accomplished using two C-17 Globalmaster III aircraft, which dropped 11,200 lbs of supplies over two days. In total there where 16 pallets containing 576 boxes of meals-ready-to-eat and 64 ammunition containers, critical to the 25 ID training objectives.

"The mission was to resupply the Army units on the ground in support of Lightning Forge," said Maj Andrew Beckett, aircraft commander and the mission commander from the 15th operations group. "For this exercise rather than the training bundles that we would normally drop we actually have people that are relying on us to receive the materials, it is an added realism to the training."

According to Army Sgt. 1st Class Roderick Buck, from the 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, 380th Ground Liaison Office attached to the15th Wing, exercise Lightning Forge is a force-on-force scenario involving eight battalions for the 25th ID. T
The exercise is used to prepare the 25th ID for their Joint Readiness Training Center rotation. The JRTC is used to certify army units for deployment.  

Coordination between 25th ID and the 15 Wing started in late January and continued through the recovery of the air drop in early March. 

The coordination for the air drop was facilitated by Buck and Army Capt. Gilbert Parker, both from the 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, 380th Ground Liaison Office attached to the 15th Wing. According to Buck their job is working out all the small details in joint operations and translate what the Army wants from the Air Force and what the Air Force needs back from the Army.

"Coordination and communication are key, when you emphasize on joint capabilities, communication is a decisive factor in the success of an operation," said Parker.

The air drop was a combined effort by the 25th Transportation Company delivering the supplies to the 647th LRS palletized and preparing the supplies so that 535th AS could drop them to the 25th ID personnel on the ground.

"The C-17 is optimally designed to support  the Army. It can carry strikers, tanks, support gear, it can conduct air drops of supply, personnel and gear in to theater, so actually training with the Army units out here is a great opportunity," said Beckett.

According to Buck future joint operations will increase the communication to the Air Force through in-depth briefings on Army operations and the Air Force's roll in them.

"The emphasis of the military is to bring the branches together as much as we can to work in parallel towards the same objective," said Parker.