Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Wisconsin Air Guard Meeting Deployment Challenges in Guam By Vaughn R. Larson,
                Department of Military Affairs
 MADISON, Wis. - More than 100 members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing have been deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam since December, supporting the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron as part of the U.S. Pacific Command. Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp, Wisconsin’s adjutant general, recently visited the 506th and said the deployed Wisconsin Air National Guard Airmen were making quite an impression. “It’s clear they are intent on leaving the mission better than they found it,” Knapp said. “They are all in, not content to simply do the minimum effort.” Lt. Col. Michael Pauls, the officer in charge of the deployed 128th ARW members supporting the 506th EARS, said the deployment has been challenging but successful. “We have been tasked with dozens of high-priority missions all over the Pacific area of responsibility,” Pauls said. “The aircrews have been enjoying the different mission sets flown these past two months. Within one week, they could be refueling a reconnaissance aircraft over disputed waters, supporting a B-1 bomber on a short-notice recall mission, or being on alert in Alaska.” The 128th Airmen are part of an effort to provide in-flight refueling for fighter aircraft, airlift assets and bombers to support continuous bomber task force presence and theater security packages in the Pacific region. The Indo-Pacific Command is one of six U.S. geographic combatant commands, encompassing roughly half the Earth’s surface — stretching from the U.S. west coast to the western border of India and reaching from the North Pole to Antarctica. “With heightened tensions in today’s world, we have a very important mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Branz, aerospace ground support equipment production supervisor on this mission. To cover the busy scheduling demands, they “assembled an A team and a B team, each to work every other day — including weekends and holidays. Those shifts range anywhere from 10 to 14 hours to cover early launches, late recoveries and countless maintenance actions. “We’ve also been tasked with several forward deployments within the Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility,“ he said. “During this timeframe, a third of the maintenance crew is gone, leaving us operating with a skeleton crew here. No one complains about the long hours. Everyone is raising their hand to volunteer when asked to step up.” Lt. Col. Kristin Rebholz, deployed 128th officer in charge of maintenance, said the variety of missions is keeping the refuelers on their toes. “The forward deployments at the beginning of our trip provided arctic weather training and support,” Rebholz said. “The small teams from maintenance that were sent out learned how to maximize their skills with limited personnel and, at times, limited resources and still made the mission happen — which is great and what we expect to happen.” Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Lampe, an aviation resource manager, said flexibility is key to the deployed Airmen learning to work together and accomplish the mission. “The individuals on this deployment performed above and beyond expectations,” Lampe said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with.” While the 506th Expeditionary Air Refueling Group is a permanent resident of the U.S. Air Force’s 36th Operations Group, it is staffed by Air National Guard members from air refueling units across the country. The 506th depends on Air National Guard KC-135 Stratotankers to work alongside active-duty and Air Force Reserve aircraft to provide the aerial refueling and airlift capabilities that support critical U.S. Indo-Pacific Command missions. Rebholz said learning from their active-duty counterparts has been valuable, and the deployed 128th Airmen are also trying to educate them on what the National Guard brings to the table. “In Milwaukee, we have better autonomy, relationships built and a hard-working culture that really wants to get the job done,” Rebholz explained. “Being the ‘guest unit,’ you spend a lot of time getting acclimated, trying to explain your importance and existence, and shortly after it’s time to go.” She said the deployed Airmen have learned quite a bit so far — information they can share with the home unit when they return. “I loved seeing the increased camaraderie and teamwork the deployment was bringing about among the Airmen,” Knapp said. He presented challenge coins to some of the 128th Airmen and members of the Guam National Guard supporting the visit. Tech. Sgt. Lavontae Harper, a boom operator, said “flexibility is the key to airpower” has been their motto on this deployment. “With the ever-changing and growing mission here in the Pacific, our deployers have shown nothing but professionalism and resiliency,” Harper said. “In 16-plus years, I’ve never had a better trip,” said Master Sgt. Chad Crull, a metals technician. He said seeing service counterparts and international partners participate in Pacific Command exercises has been great. “This kind of training is especially valuable and salient today as we work to ensure our military is prepared for any conflict, especially in the increasingly strategic Pacific regions,” Knapp said. This is the first deployment for many of the 128th ARW Airmen, and certainly the first to Guam for others. But the 128th has deployed to Guam in the past. “The deployments we completed to Guam less than a year ago look completely different,” Pauls said. “The Air Force is moving to the Agile Combat Employment construct in the way we employ airpower. Andersen is the petri dish for that as we learn in the tanker community to develop an expeditionary mindset.” The 128th ARW Airmen expect to return in late March.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  128th Air Refueling Wing
 Wisconsin Air National Guard
 Guam National Guard
 KC-135 Stratotanker
 
 Determined Guam Guardsman Earns Blade Runner Award
 By Mark Scott,
  Connecticut Air Guard Unit Tests Battle Management System
 By Sgt. Matthew Lucibello,
  Air National Guard Director Visits Wisconsin Air Guard
 By Airman 1st Class Cynthia Yang,
  More
 Louisiana National Guard Engineers Prepare for Deployment4/20/2024168th Wing Enables Fighter Support over Pacific for Agile Reaper4/19/2024Army Guard Elevates Disaster Response with UAS Training4/18/2024 View more Guard News »
 Pennsylvania National Guard Members Deploy to Africa4/19/2024
US, Canadian Special Forces Forge Partnerships in Jamaica4/8/2024
Deployed Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Earn Their Combat Patch3/27/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 Wisconsin Air Guard Trains with Papua New Guinea Partners4/19/2024

West Virginia Guard Expands International Partnerships4/16/2024

Maryland Guard, Bosnia and Herzegovina Conduct JTAC Training4/12/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil