352nd SOG mobility exercise tests Team Mildenhall's ability to get Airmen out the door

  • Published
  • By Tech Sgt. Cindy Dorfner
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  While the 352nd Special Operations Group's mobility exercise might have been transparent to many at RAF Mildenhall this week, it certainly wasn't to those who helped make it happen. 

Deploying the group's people and aircraft requires a team effort, said Master Sgt. David Henry, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron superintendent of contingency plans and programs. 

"Units and people outside of the SOG provide 'the machine' to get the special operators out of town whether it's during a real-world scenario or an exercise," he said.
Airmen from the 100th LRS manage the deployment control center, cargo deployment function, vehicle operations and the air passenger terminal. The 100th Mission Support Squadron operates the personnel deployment function, and the 727th Air Mobility Squadron handles the joint inspections of cargo and vehicles for loading aircraft.
Those different functions provide command and control, inspect and load cargo, transport deploying Airmen, manifest them on flights and make sure their affairs are in order. 

Though it might sound like a lot of moving parts, all-in-all, it's one giant system that works rather well, Sergeant Henry said. 

"Here at RAF Mildenhall, we truly have a team approach to (deploying)," said Col. Brad Webb, 352nd SOG commander. "When the SOG deploys, we rely heavily on many 100th Air Refueling Wing units, as well as the 727th AMS." 

The SOG isn't the only customer of the mobility machine, but it definitely keeps the wheels grinding, said 1st Lt. Laura Apeldoorn, 100th LRS assistant installation deployment officer. 

"Most of the time when the SOG deploys, it's not a situation where they've planned it out for a long time ... they're typically reacting to a short-notice tasking," she said. "Our mobility machine is based on a long, drawn-out plan, so the process to get these guys out the door is different than if we were deploying assets from the 100th Air Refueling Wing." 

Because the scenario varies for those manning the mobility machine, exercises are key to making sure things work smoothly when real-world taskings come down. 

"Exercises are an important part of any organization's readiness," said Colonel Webb. "We, in the SOG, exercise some aspect of our readiness routinely. In this cycle, we exercised our mobility processes to test our ability to get our units 'out the door' timely, efficiently and with all the right gear." 

Keeping in line with the old saying, "practice makes perfect," everyone involved in training exercises is always looking for ways to get better. 

"Team Mildenhall is constantly working to improve our rapid deployment capability, so we are ready to go anytime we are called," said Col. Brian Cutts, 352nd SOG deputy commander. 

"We need to be ready to deploy on a moment's notice and this MOBEX was an opportunity to sharpen our skills and processes to get out of town on time," he said.