HILO, Hawaii – The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, conducted a contingency response force validation exercise from Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii, to Hilo that highlights the CAB’s ability to quickly deploy a response force throughout the Pacific, Sept. 11.
The small-scale rapid began when the CRF received the call for deployment and ended when all aircraft were reassembled and ready for flight at the final location.
The CAB CRF task force, which consisted of soldiers from each battalion, began to prepare the aircraft for transportation in a C-17 Globemaster III.
Once loaded in the C-17, the aircraft were transported to the final destination, downloaded and reassembled.
“The battalions worked well together to accomplish the mission,” said Capt. Matthew Dedmon, assistant operations officer, 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th CAB, 25th ID, also a native of Oviedo, Fla. “The soldiers, from across the battalions, performed seamlessly.”
By completing the exercise in the prescribed time limit, the CAB confirmed its ability to meet the 25th ID commander’s intent of providing the PACOM commander with a flexible, tailor able, and scalable Mission Command headquarters supporting contingencies.
“We are shifting our focus to the Pacific after focusing on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2001,” said Maj. Mark Fulmer, 25th CAB assistant operations officer, originally from Shartelsville, Penn. “The United States Pacific Command area of responsibility requires a force to react quickly across vast distances while remaining flexible enough to respond to different incidents.”
The response force can respond to environmental disasters and other aggressive situations throughout the austere jungle environments and vast oceanic coverage that occupies more than 50 percent of the Earth’s surface.
According to Fulmer, the 25th CAB’s duty is to provide the best mission ready force that can quickly deploy an aviation task force supporting other units, services and countries.
The 25th CAB will assume the Pacific CRF role in October.