Photo By Capt. Jonathan Padish | An exercise SIGMAR STORM 2025 patch sits atop a military planning document at Abraham...... read more read more
Springfield, Ill. (Sept. 7, 2025) -- A famous boxer once said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
For airmen participating in exercise SIGMAR STORM July 28 to Aug. 2 at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport, the dynamic scenario presented put that saying into practice and necessitated planning in crisis.
Despite the accelerated timeline, airmen responded well to the first punch presented by the crisis scenario.
“The exercise was a huge success,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Tanner Lovett, the training officer for the 183d Air Component Operations Squadron, Illinois Air National Guard and mastermind of the exercise scenario. “It was the most robust, challenging exercise our unit has faced in years, and they passed the test.”
Indeed, exercise participants appreciated the robustness of the exercise scenario, which was derived from real-world considerations.
“With the 183d ACOS’ mission [to provide air staff subject-matter experts supporting the Commander, Air Force Forces], it was an invaluable exercise in both using functional knowledge to determine capability and feasibility of a proposed course of action and also doing the work of developing briefs for senior leaders at the air component level and, ultimately, the combatant command,” said Air Force Staff Sgt. Rickey Dockins, the manager of plans and exercises for the Logistics Readiness Division for Air Forces Southern.
Aside from providing an invaluable training opportunity for Illinois Air Guardsmen, exercise SIGMAR STORM served as an opportunity for 183d ACOS airmen to work alongside their active-duty counterparts at AFSOUTH.
“Having our AFSOUTH partners participate was invaluable,” said Lovett. “Their experience and expertise allowed our members to get more out of the exercise while allowing us to demonstrate our capabilities to our active-duty counterparts firsthand.”
That sentiment was echoed by AFSOUTH planners.
“It was a great experience working with the 183d ACOS,” said Dockins. “It was wonderful seeing the passion and drive they expressed in preparing the courses of action for the commander. The exercise demonstrated the 183d’s commitment to providing nothing short of excellence and that they know what to do, how to do it, and are 100 percent ready to do it.”
With another exercise under its belt, the 183d ACOS has further honed its mission-ready lethality and capabilities as subject-matter expert planners for the COMAFFOR and combatant commanders.
“While often overlooked, operational-level planning is as critical as it is difficult,” said Lovett. “Every situation has its own timelines, goals, constraints and challenges. While we can’t prepare for every scenario, exercises like SIGMAR STORM help sharpen our skills so we can be read to plan for any scenario and ensure our airmen are always at their best and ready to go if – and when – they are needed.”
The 183d ACOS is a military unit comprised of subject-matter experts who execute air component planning, operations and assessments for the COMAFFOR in support of the combatant commander’s theater campaign strategy and contingency events, orchestrate cross-functional integration of operational and administrative responsibilities for all assigned and attached forces operating across the competition continuum, and are proficient with integrating joint warfighting functions in a joint force environment.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2025 16:55 |
| Story ID: | 547470 |
| Location: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Hometown: | SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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