MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. — March Air Reserve Base and the March Inland Port Airport Authority hosted a Community-Installation Utility Tabletop Exercise June 16, bringing together military leaders, local government officials, utility providers and community stakeholders to strengthen installation readiness, enhance regional resilience and reinforce partnerships critical to mission success.
The exercise focused on strengthening coordination between the installation and community partners by examining how disruptions to critical infrastructure could affect operations. Through scenario-based discussions, participants identified shared dependencies, explored potential vulnerabilities and developed coordinated solutions designed to improve readiness before emergencies occur.
“The purpose of today’s exercise is to bring together the teams from the installation as well as our community partners to discuss installation readiness,” said Amee Howard, director of Installation Sustainment and Community Partnership at March Air Reserve Base. “Today’s exercise… will strengthen our readiness and our resiliency by exploring and understanding the dependencies of the different systems and the infrastructure, and ultimately coming up with potential solutions… that will lead us to be more resilient and more ready for tomorrow’s fight.”
As conversations progressed, it became clear that installation readiness extends well beyond the gates of March ARB. Reliable utilities, transportation networks and community services all contribute to sustaining the mission, making strong collaboration with regional partners essential to maintaining operational capability.
That collaboration is central to the mission of the March Joint Powers Authority, said Chuck Conder, Riverside City council member and vice chair of the authority.
“The JPA exists to make sure that March is taken care of, and it can do all of its assigned missions,” Conder said.
Working through realistic scenarios, participants identified gaps in coordination and strengthened communication strategies before a real-world incident could impact critical infrastructure. Conder emphasized that planning together ahead of time allows both the installation and surrounding communities to respond more effectively when challenges arise.
“We’re trying to find the gaps that exist right now so that if there is some type of issue which takes down the power, March can do its mission and we can help the local community survive that same issue,” Conder said.
Howard noted that exercises like this also reinforce relationships built over years of collaboration between the installation and surrounding communities.
“We have a symbiotic relationship with each other. We do not serve alone. We serve with our community partners.”
Home to the 452nd Air Mobility Wing- the largest wing in Air Force Reserve Command- March Air Reserve Base relies on resilient infrastructure and enduring community partnerships to support its global air mobility mission. Exercises such as the Community-Installation Utility Tabletop Exercise strengthen those partnerships, helping ensure the installation remains prepared to generate combat-ready forces whenever and wherever the nation calls.