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A C-17 Globemaster III and four KC-10 Extenders from the 305th Air Mobility Wing supported the multiday exercise Razor Talon at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, Dec. 1-4.
While the KC-10s have been a participant in Razor Talon since the exercise was established nearly a decade ago, this was the first time that the C-17 participated.
“The 305th’s role in exercises like Razor Talon just go to show how vital rapid global mobility is to what the Air Force and Department of Defense does,” said Col. Scott Wiederholt, 305th Air Mobility Wing commander. “We provide a stable and solid backbone to combat employment by enabling the air and ground fights through fuels, cargo, personnel and more.”
Razor Talon is a quarterly Agile Combat Employment and large-force composite training exercise that allows the Air Force to train in a fully-developed threat scenario environment with joint and combined warfighters across multiple domains, according to Lt. Col. Taylor Francis, Director of Staff for the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB.
This exercise and others like it help create multi-capable Airmen, which Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, announced as a priority in his vision “Accelerate Change or Lose.”
ACE training focuses on preparing Airmen for short or no-notice contingencies by having forces operate from locations with varying levels of capacity and support in a training environment.
This style of exercise also helps our units train to be strategically predictable, but operationally unpredictable, according to Wiederholt. Razor Talon helps the 305 AMW train with its joint partners to enhance passive and active defense capabilities while validating new and innovative ways to deploy and maneuver assets.
This year’s exercise involved participants from 19 different units across the Air Force, Army and Marine Corps. In total, Razor Talon featured 11 different mission design series and 145 total aircraft ranging from F-15Es and F-35Bs, to E-8Cs and HC-130Js.
The 305th AMW KC-10s demonstrated the wing’s aerial refueling capabilities in a joint environment. However, for the first time ever, the Wing also demonstrated its capabilities to support operations in austere environments through the C-17, according to Capt. Trevor Leeming, a C-17A instructor pilot and the 305th AMW lead planner for the exercise.
“We provided the ability to actually complete the Agile Combat Employment concept with an integrated joint force,” Leeming added. “We allowed a further projection of force than previously attainable, with as few assets as possible to get the job done.”
The 305th AMW is expected to continue to participate in these exercises, further demonstrating its role in rapid global mobility and active role in a joint environment.
“We’re excited to see these types of exercises develop as they continue to test and improve our Airmen and capabilities,” Wiederholt added. “We’re proud to participate and look forward to seeing the progress that will come as a result.”
| Date Taken: | 12.07.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.08.2020 08:13 |
| Story ID: | 384443 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 305th AMW supports ACE exercise Razor Talon, by Capt. Victoria Wright, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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