News United States Air Force
 Team Travis flies away to Alpena CRTC for readiness exercisePublished April 20, 2022
                        
                        By Lan Kim
                        
                        
                        60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
                **ALPENA, Mich. (AFNS) --**
                A 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aircrew and a 60th Medical Group En Route Patient Staging System (ERPSS) team from Travis Air Force Base, California, lift a simulated patient into an ambulance at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, April 12, 2022.A 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron aircrew and a 60th Medical Group En Route Patient Staging System team from Travis Air Force Base, California, lift a simulated patient into an ambulance at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Mich., April 12, 2022. The Airmen donned their mission-oriented protective postures gear as part of Exercise Roundel Perun 22-01, a fly-away exercise meant to test the 60th Air Mobility Wing’s ability to rapidly mobilize and conduct operations at a forward location under hostile conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lan Kim)
            
            
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Nearly 400 Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at **Travis Air Force Base**, California, deployed to the **Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center** in Alpena, Michigan, from April 9-14, for Exercise Roundel Perun 22-01, a large readiness exercise meant to test the "fly-away" method of employing forces.
"The fly-away exercise is a concept of operations of actually employing every function that our base has — away from home station to operate in a foreign location with all of our equipment, personnel and forces available to execute our global mobility mission," said Lt. Col. Tyler Marcotte, Travis AFB’s inspector general and exercise assistant controller.
According to Marcotte, this exercise also marks the first time the 60th AMW has conducted an LRE in more than 10 years.
"We have a lot of new folks doing this for the first time out of Travis," Marcotte said. "It's unique that we have a lot of personnel working with each other that normally wouldn't do so on a normal basis at home station."
More than 20,000 personnel are on Travis AFB, and close to 400 Airmen went to the Alpena CRTC and became a fully operational wing within 24 hours.
"Because it is a smaller element, it takes all hands on deck to really make this successful," he said.
Among the multiple purposes this exercise served, exploring the concept of multi-capable Airmen was an integral part of the exercise's success.
"What that really gets after, in my book, is everyone being willing to step up and do someone else's job," said Col. Ryan Garlow, 60th AMW vice commander, and commander of Viking Air Base, the simulated operating location for the exercise.U.S. Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis Air Force Base, California, off-load mission-oriented protective postures (MOPP) gear bags and luggage out of a KC-10 Extender from a staircase at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, April 10, 2022.Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California, off-load mission-oriented protective postures gear bags and luggage out of a KC-10 Extender at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Mich., April 10, 2022. A force of more than 380 Airmen from the 60th AMW deployed to Alpena CRTC for Exercise Roundel Perun 22-01, a fly-away exercise meant to test the 60th AMW’s ability to rapidly mobilize and conduct operations at a forward location under hostile conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lan Kim)
            
            
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    U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Michael Hauptman, right, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron AE technician, finishes setting up a stanchion litter system inside a C-17 Globemaster III from Travis Air Force Base, California, at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, April 11, 2022. There are five simulated patients in stanchions.Staff Sgt. Michael Hauptman, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron AE technician, finishes setting up a stanchion litter system inside a C-17 Globemaster III from Travis Air Force Base, California, at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Mich., April 11, 2022. A force of more than 380 Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing deployed to Alpena CRTC for Exercise Roundel Perun 22-01, a fly-away exercise meant to test the 60th AMW’s ability to rapidly mobilize and conduct operations at a forward location under hostile conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lan Kim)
            
            
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    U.S. Air Force Major Angel Nwankwo, left, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse, signals the off-load movement of a simulated patient from a C-17 Globemaster III at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, April 12, 2022. The nurse is on the ramp of the C-17 as the simulated patient passes her.Maj. Angel Nwankwo, left, 60th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse, signals the off-load movement of a simulated patient from a C-17 Globemaster III at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Mich., April 12, 2022. A force of more than 380 Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing deployed to Alpena CRTC for Exercise Roundel Perun, a fly-away exercise meant to test the 60th AMW’s ability to rapidly mobilize and conduct operations at a forward location under hostile conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Lan Kim)
            
            
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Garlow commended Airmen for stepping up and integrating as teammates with each other because of the smaller than regular-sized force to run the mission.
For example, Staff Sgt. Casey Bonillas, 60th Logistics Readiness Squadron ground transportation specialist, was roomed with the non-commissioned officer in charge of fuels operations during the exercise and noticed his roommate coming in late after working 14-15 hour days.
According to Bonillas, he and his counterpart for the exercise, Tech. Sgt. Randy Ahlers, 60th LRS ground transportation specialist, took it upon themselves to help with fuels operations when their shuttle service was underutilized.
"Tech. Sgt. Ahlers and myself were able to help mitigate some of that overtime that they're (fuels operations) working by fueling the trucks up," Bonillas said. "So their driver just has to swap vehicles at the fill station and then bring it back out to the aircraft."
Along with exploring the MCA concept, the wing inspection team used the LRE to evaluate multiple functional areas/sections and their relevant core tasks related to the exercise, as stated by Maj. Chris Cummings, the LRE lead planner and main executioner of Roundel Perun.
"It's about having a minimum force at a base and being able to shift focus at a moment's notice to stay mobile," Cummings said.
Thus, he said, enabling our forces to stay within the enemy's sphere of recognition or what military strategists like to refer to as the OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop.
"Exercises of this scale ensure we fine-tune the techniques, tactics and confidence to ensure we are ready for the next fight," Garlow said. “It was incredible to see all of our teams working together through the challenges we faced this week.”LR 



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Air Mobility Command 



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Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center 



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Exercise Roundel Perun 22-01 



fly-away exercise 



Multi-Capable Airmen 



MCA