SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — The South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing conducted a communications outage exercise at Joe Foss Field, Jan. 10, to evaluate the wing’s ability to sustain mission operations with limited communications across multiple work centers.
During the exercise, the wing relied on established contingency procedures, including manual tracking methods and visual hand signals, to maintain coordination and keep flying and support functions moving despite limited communications.
"We're looking to see how we operate with zero communications," said Master Sgt. Jackson Mendel, traffic management noncommissioned officer in charge with the 114th Logistics Readiness Squadron, whose team handles cargo movement and distribution. "How do we do our daily duties and fulfill the mission? Not just for our base, but other units that are depending on us.”
Airmen across the wing demonstrated their ability to adapt and execute assigned tasks under degraded conditions, reinforcing decision-making at all levels and the ability to operate effectively in contested environments.
Senior Master Sgt. Adam Dancsisin, flight superintendent with the 114th Logistics Readiness Squadron, said the exercise goes beyond proving the wing can function without communications. The goal is to build mental preparedness for degraded operations and ensure Airmen can apply established procedures when technology fails.
Wing leadership emphasized the importance of training under realistic conditions to ensure mission success regardless of operational challenges.
“Contested and degraded conditions are the standard operating environment for our Airmen,” said Col. Eric Cleveringa, commander of the 114th Operations Group. “Lobos can project agile, combat airpower in any condition, and that is something we demonstrated this weekend.”
The Comm Out exercise strengthened the wing’s ability to operate through disruption and continue generating combat capability in dynamic environments. By rehearsing contingency procedures under realistic conditions, the wing maintains readiness to support both federal taskings and state missions whenever called.