Liberty Wing goes to 'war'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Linch
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  As U.S. Air Forces in Europe's largest fighter wing, RAF Lakenheath constantly has hundreds of Airmen deployed around the globe engaging in real-world operations.

Even when the Liberty Wing's Airmen are working within the gates of RAF Lakenheath, they must always remain prepared to go to war.

The 48th Fighter Wing kicked-off phase one of its fourth operational readiness exercise Oct. 4, in preparation for its upcoming operational readiness inspection, in an effort to ensure its Airmen are ready.

"One of our responsibilities as Airmen is to be ready to go (to war) at any point in time," said Lt. Col. Thomas McGrath, 48th Fighter Wing chief of Wing Plans and Inspections, noting that unprepared Airmen burden their teammates and hinder the mission.

Colonel McGrath said there are several things Liberty Wing Airmen can do to ensure success in the exercise and upcoming inspection as well as real-world situations.

"They should have all the appropriate equipment, everything that is detailed on the packing list, in their mobility bag and ready to go," he said. "So they can bring it in, get it palletized, get themselves processed through the mobility lines, get on an airplane and potentially be on their way to a deployed location within hours."

Airmen should also make sure their deployment folders are up to date, they are medically prepared, physically fit and know their core competencies, he said.

In addition to clerical preparation, Airmen need a certain mentality to successfully prepare to deploy.

"Airmen should also show a real-world sense of urgency during the exercise without compromising safety," he added.

Operational readiness exercises are conducted at local levels and consist of two phases. In phase one, or a local ORE, a prepare-to-deploy order is given, and wing personnel prepare for and deploy to an area specified in that order. In phase two, or a local operations evaluation, deployed personnel will carry out the mission at their location. Both phase one and two exercises and inspections are generally simulated and conducted on base.

It is not uncommon during OREs for special security measures to be implemented base wide; that can potentially disrupt normal operations.

"It is inconvenient when the force protection conditions change on base and disrupt what I am doing," said Abby Linch, a RAF Lakenheath military spouse. "Although it is frustrating, I know the exercises are necessary to keep our Airmen ready."

According to Colonel McGrath, exercises and inspections, including the special security measures, are necessary to ensure Airmen are is capable of rapid forward deployment and sustained operations in any region of the world.

"We as a nation have made commitments ... to be able to provide capabilities and response to support both our national interests and those of our allies," said Colonel McGrath. "If we have said we can do something we need to be able to prove that yes indeed we can do it, because we may be called.

"We are not taking the test for the test's sake, we are taking the test to be able to accomplish it real world," he finished.

The 48th FW is slated to have an ORI conducted by a team from U.S. Air Forces in Europe on Oct. 22, and a Force Evaluation conducted by a NATO Tactical Evaluation team Oct. 28.