Photo By Lt. Col. Jennifer Pearson | 927th Logistics Readiness Squadron members pause for a group photo at Eielson Air...... read more read more
Members of the 927th Logistics Readiness Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., embedded into three different sections within the 354th LRS, Eielson AFB, Alaska, July 14-30, supporting RED FLAG-Alaska to ensure mission success while gaining important training opportunities.
“Supporting Red Flag allows the 927th Reserve Airmen opportunities to learn about the different sections that they don’t have at home station,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Philip Shields, 927th LRS commander.
Additionally, going to a remote base allowed the team to implement their mobility process, plan for the mission, fall in with the active-duty unit and fully integrate. “Practicing collaboration and integration within another unit is one of the bigger components of mission success,” said Shields.
During major exercises, the host base experiences an increase in requirements and benefits from the support of mission partners. During RED FLAG-Alaska, the ground transportation requirements alone in support of Red Flag were required to move more than 100 additional personnel around the base and out to the flight line for operations.
“Supporting the 354th and Red Flag provided a bigger picture of the military outside the Air Force operations completed at home station,” said Senior Master Sgt. George Thurman, 927th LRS ground transportation superintendent. “Here our reserve airmen are experiencing the joint side of operations as we work together in a combat environment.”
In addition to ground transportation, the Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants team augmented the 354th LRS POL office bringing back experience and knowledge to apply at home station. “Being here helps ensure proficiency and deployment ready airmen,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin Todd, 927th LRS fuel distribution operator.
The Airmen refueled different services F-35 variants, F-16s, and other aircraft needing support including the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th Rescue Squadron, Detachment 1 HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters in a high operations tempo environment. Two of the biggest learning challenges for the 927th were meeting the unique demands of different aircraft with quick refuel turn arounds and ensuring members with trucks were always ready on standby.
“Familiarity with different aircraft across the Air Force and other services increases the safety awareness of how to properly position fuel trucks and where to bring the fuel leads, while knowing where vents are on an aircraft,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Taj Copeland, 927 LRS POL operations supervisor.
At home station, 927th LRS supply manages the units Individual Protection Equipment (IPE), but at RED FLAG-Alaska, members were able to cycle through other sections providing experience in preparation for future missions and deployments.
Supporting the exercise “enabled newer and more experienced troops exposure to the requirements and pace outside of what is experienced as a traditional reservist,” said Master Sgt. Lydia Grill, 927th LRS Material Management Flight non-commissioned officer in charge. "Here they are working and learning side-by-side with the active-duty members, gaining hands-on experience for their seasonal training and making connections to develop the relationships to work together as one team.”
For some Airmen, “This is their first experience working with customer service, equipment, inventory and inspections,” said Grill. “The members are also getting exposure working with the joint services and how to support other sections outside of home station experience resulting in better preparedness for future exercises and deployments.”
In addition to completing upgrade training for specific tasks and demonstrating proficiency in their jobs, the members of the 927th LRS demonstrated flexibility and adaptability as the annual tour requirements were adjusted.
“The section supervisors were key in modeling adaptability as they introduced and integrated their members seamlessly into the active-duty team,” said Shields.
RED FLAG-Alaska not only provided the Reserve Airmen with valuable training but also afforded them a unique opportunity to showcase their contribution to the overall Air Force mission during a visit from their honorary commander. Michael Blasco, 927th LRS honorary commander, toured Eielson AFB during a visit to Alaska, and saw the squadron in action during their annual training.
“Seeing the mission play out during an exercise was very educational,” said Blasco. “It really brought clarity to the importance of standards and procedures. The Airmen supported the exercise just as they would if called to deploy and watching them work seamlessly alongside Airmen from Tennessee and even Navy and Marines was impressive.”
| Date Taken: | 09.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2025 13:31 |
| Story ID: | 547333 |
| Location: | ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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