MOBEX will train Airmen to meet AF needs

MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash., -- Next week, the wing will undergo an initial response exercise, testing our ability to get our Airmen out the door and to the fight, wherever it may be. With nearly 600 Airmen currently deployed from McChord, we are proving our ability to bring the fight to the frontlines of freedom everyday. While deploying may seem second nature to us now, so many years into the Global War on Terror, it's exercises like this that hone our skills and keep us ready whenever our country calls.

This exercise is a great opportunity to train your Airmen for the expeditionary nature of today's Air Force. Take the time to talk to your young Airmen about why we have exercises. Make sure the Airmen in your unit who will process the deployment line are prepared and understand why it is important to be ready to deploy.

As I've said many times before, our operations tempo is not going to slow down. We will continue to deploy and serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries around the world for as long as this global struggle continues, and McChord Airmen at home will continue to bring combat airlift to the world from the Pacific Northwest.

Every week, our Logistics Readi-ness Squadron briefs me on the number of McChord Airmen who are scheduled to deploy and who return from deployment. These are numbers I watch very closely and take great interest in. Almost every week we receive new taskings that will take McChord Airmen into harm's way. We use exercises like the one next week to ensure the Airmen we send have the tools they need to succeed, and then we trust each Airman to accomplish the mission.

It's my responsibility to make sure every Airman who leaves this base is ready for whatever dangers he or she will face in the theater. I take that responsibility seriously. Each Airman that returns safe and sound is one who left McChord ready for the challenges ahead. Make sure you and your Airmen are ready!