JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- The 62nd Airlift Wing successfully completed Exercise Rainier War 22A and demonstrated the ability to survive, operate, and win against a global competitor.
Rainier War is a semi-annual exercise led by the 62nd AW designed to train Airmen under realistic scenarios that support Full Spectrum Readiness against modern threats and replicate today’s contingency operations.
“Exercise Rainier War exercised and evaluated the Wing’s ability to employ the force and their ability to perform during wartime and/or contingency taskings in a high-intensity, wartime contested, degraded and operationally limited environment,” said Col. David Fazenbaker, 62nd AW commander. “One of the goals of Exercise Rainier War is to demonstrate that McChord Airmen are resilient, innovative, adaptive and ready to project the joint force. I believe we achieved that.”
As part of Rainier War, Airmen with the 62nd AW deployed and conducted exercise operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, March 17-26, 2022.
Maj. Matthew Weinberg, 62nd AW Inspector General Exercise Director, said Rainier War is designed to demonstrate the Wing’s ability to operate and survive while defeating challenges to the U.S. military advantage in all operating domains – air, land, sea and cyberspace.
“One of the focuses of the exercise was to showcase Agile Combat Employment, which is the operational capability that requires Airmen to be expeditionary and multi-capable to reduce the burden on airlift, to minimize the targeting footprint, to support multiple dispersal locations and to generate and support combat power,” Weinberg said. “This exercise solidified many of the concepts that we need to engage in long-term strategic competitions.”
At the conclusion of Rainier War, the exercise highlighted how the wing executes today’s global airlift mission, develops readiness to win any fight, any time, and invests in Airmen and families.