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3rd Herd tramples training objectives

  • Published
  • By Robert Talenti
  • 689th Combat Communications Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  More than 350 3rd Combat Communications Group members from three squadrons participated in a series of exercises and inspections to test their skills here Jan. 30 to Feb. 14.

Airmen from the 31st Combat Communications Squadron are taking part in a compliance readiness inspection; 32nd Combat Communications Squadron members are proving their skills in a compliance readiness exercise; and the 34th Combat Communications Squadron is testing its capabilities in a field training exercise. During the events, the Airmen will test their abilities to establish and operate a fully functional bare base.

If there is a short in the grounding connection, it could destroy all of the equipment, and people could get hurt, explained Airman 1st Class Phu Ly, a 31st CBCS power production journeyman, as he placed the final grounding rod. "As long as I follow the procedures and do things properly, everything will be all right."

Airman Ly said the event is a big undertaking for the entire team and getting the power right is critical to all of the base assets.

"Without good power the rest of operations can't happen," he said. "It takes all of us working together to get the base set up."

While the 31st built the base, its sister unit, the 32nd CBCS, set up two sites to test skills.

"You've got to line everything up just right," said Senior Airman Ryan Hoffman, a 32nd CBCS radio frequency transmission journeyman, as he and his crew set up a 4,000-pound multiband antenna used for satellite communications. "The hardest part is getting the base set as this unit is like a wind sail."

"Although it is older technology, it still provides half of our communication capability for the exercise," he added. "It is critical that we get this antenna operational."

As both bare bases came together, the members of the 34th CBCS inspected and packed up all the equipment to prove their skills in the field during the field training exercise at the training site.

"We perform hundreds of inspections to ensure the equipment is always ready," said Airman 1st Class Jordan Johnson, a 34th CBCS cyber systems operations apprentice, as he conducted a pre-deployment inspection on a battery backup system. "Doing this keeps us up to speed in our skill sets as we repair, replace or outsource the equipment as needed with the quality control and approval of our supervisors."

The exercise and inspection events also gave the 689th Combat Communications Wing an opportunity to validate inspections grading criteria in a new wing supplement to Air Force Instruction 90-201, Inspector General Activities.

"We're out here observing the units based on the new criteria to work toward validation," said Tech Sgt. Kevin Carey, 689th CCW non-commissioned officer in charge of wing cyber standards who acted as an observer evaluator for the exercise. "We are the eyes and ears, and this is a joint effort between the groups and the wing."