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ALPENA, Mich.—Members of the U.S. Air Force’s 23rd Air Task Force’s Combat Service Support Team from Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., broke new ground Aug. 9, 2025, when they completed the first-ever rapid runway repair operation on a live runway in Department of Defense history.
During the exercise, the CSST, which is part of the Combat Air Base Squadron, executed operations as part of their 300-level training within the Air Force’s Force Generation cycle, designed to certify a unit’s ability to deploy, establish operations, and sustain combat airpower under contested conditions.
“Our team has been working hard preparing for this moment,” said Senior Master Sgt. Timothy Carlson, CSST noncommissioned officer in charge. “We’ve done this before, but this is the first time we had aircraft land on it.”
A simulated attack caused large craters on the taxiway during the exercise, and the Combat Air Base Squadron comprised of Airmen from JBAB and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, worked to repair the damage, enabling aircraft to safely land on the patched surfaces within the same day. The CSST’s rapid runway repair capability is vital in contested environments where enemy attacks, such as cruise missiles and bombs, threaten airfield infrastructure.
“In a conflict, runway damage can ground our aircraft, preventing us from returning to the fight,” Carlson said. “Practicing expedient repairs like these ensures we can quickly get aircraft back airborne or safely landed, maintaining our operational edge.”
The team’s coordinated effort draws on years of training, including Silver Flag exercises, where the Air Force’s Combat Engineer community trains on airfield damage repair and response to conventional and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, as well as continuous, cross-specialty collaboration from structures to heavy equipment operators, making them multi-capable Airmen.
“This isn’t just training, this is history in the making for the Civil Engineering community,” Carlson said. “Putting these engineering plans into action in a live environment is almost indescribable.”
According to Carlson, repairs such as these were invented in the 1980s during the Cold War, and until now, there was little enemy threat to damage a runway. Because of this lack of concern, there was not a big push to assume the risk of landing aircraft on an expedient repair.
“Now that we are preparing for an enemy with similar capabilities, it was the spark CE needed for a unit to take the risk and try it out,” Carlson said. “In this case it was the National Guard that took that risk. Hopefully this ‘proof’ builds confidence, and other units start practicing on it, for their benefit and ours.”
With the CSST’s success in rapid runway repair and subsequently landing a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft on the repaired runway, the U.S. joins only two other countries capable of safely landing aircraft on an actively repaired runway in a contested environment.
As the exercise continued, the CSST and its partner units remained focused on refining their ability to operate under pressure and ensure air superiority in any conflict scenario.
“Over the past few months, our team has attended base defense training and advanced ready training for contingency locations, and we are here putting it all together. I am proud of this team and how they are performing,” Carlson said.
Northern Strike 25-2 also emphasized joint operations, including close air support, force protection and logistics, further enhancing multi-domain readiness. The exercise reinforced the importance of the Combat Air Base Squadron, which integrates airfield management, medical personnel, and munitions troops to sustain combat airpower.
| Date Taken: | 08.22.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.22.2025 09:48 |
| Story ID: | 546239 |
| Location: | ALPENA, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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