Photo By Staff Sgt. Gerald Willis | A Royal Australian Air Force engineer spreads rapidSet concrete on a small crater...... read more read more
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In a contingency environment, having the ability to seamlessly integrate with combined forces to repair an airfield can be the determining factor of success or failure.
In the event of an attack, ensuring the flightline is operational takes top priority. Team Andersen and international partners completed the first Rapid Airfield Damage Repair exercise here on Guam encompassing the full scope of recovery and defense after an attack.
Developed in 2017 by the engineers at Air Force Civil Engineer Center, the new process allows civil engineer units to restore airfields that have been damaged anywhere in the world with minimum delay.
"After an attack, the first questions asked will be if the flightline is operational and if not, how long until sorties can be launched," said 1st Lt. Charles Richards, 36th Civil Engineer Squadron plans officer in charge. "With the RADR process, we can get the aircraft in the air faster than ever."
Recovery of an airfield is a team effort requiring communication between several joint and combined units. During the exercise, the 736th Security Forces Squadron secured the mock-airfield on Northwest field while engineers from the 554th RED HORSE Squadron, 36th CES and engineers from the Royal Australian Air Force and Japan Air Self-Defense Force all came together to train in a realistic environment.
"With so many moving parts, organization is key to getting all the repairs done safely and effectively," Richards said. "When using the RADR process, it increases our efficiency tenfold and allows us to work almost as an assembly line, moving down the flight line making repairs."
During RADR, dedicated teams receive a specific task to complete on each section of the damaged tarmac. Each team's contribution lays the ground work for the next team to follow and complete the next stage of repairs.
The teams represent pieces of a puzzle, all coming together to complete a common goal of reestablishing an airfield and getting planes back in the fight. The training opportunities presented during the exercise ensure all Airmen know their role and how to work together.
"Our Airmen are skilled in each of these tasks individually, using the heavy machinery and construction is what we are trained to do," Brubaker said. "Working together with perfect timing makes this process successful. That is what makes this type of training so important and what we came here to accomplish."
Multinational partnerships are force multipliers in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Enhancing our alliances through training is a fundamental priority. All nations involved benefit from an environment that safeguards security, stability, prosperity and peace for the entire region.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2018 19:30 |
| Story ID: | 275921 |
| Location: | GU |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Paving the way: Engineers complete a Combined Rapid Airfield Damage Repair exercise on Guam, by SSgt Gerald Willis, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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