DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (USTCNS) --- More than 300 Dover Team members joined nearly 700 people from 25 bases across the country to unite for Air Mobility Command's Inspector General Exercise held last month in Savannah, Ga., Fort Campbell, Ky., and Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

The official results of the exercise showed Dover AFB did exceptionally well, scoring green, the best rating available, in all but one unit type code.

"For the amount of UTCs Dover had assigned during the IGX, our performance was outstanding said Col. Mark S. Solo, 436th Operations Group commander, who served as the deployed commander during the first half of the exercise

"There were many contributing factors to Dover's success," he said, "but the key was involvement, participation and support throughout the entire base. That includes the troops who deployed, as well as those who stayed behind to work 12-hour shifts.

"The professionalism and hard work put forth from all involved including the exercise planners, unit deployment managers and the individuals who actually deployed helped lead Dover Air Force Base to success," said Solo.

Dover AFB's deployed troops, from various career fields within both the 436th and 512th Airlift wings, joined members of the active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve to form the 13th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah. Their mission was to provide airlift support during a mock wartime scenario. The exercise was designed to test and evaluate each individual unit within the wing on their ability to perform the wartime mission.

The exercise covered all phases of a wartime scenario, including conventional warfare and chemical attacks. During the exercise, troops adapted to changing alarm conditions, changes in Mission Oriented Protective Posture and redeployed from Savannah to Pope AFB, N.C., for rapid runway repair.

For most Dover Team members, preparation for the IGX began months in advance. Senior Airman Matthew Naylor, a member of the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron and who was part of the team which re-deployed to Pope AFB, said preparation was key to success at the IGX.

"The inspectors usually allot about four hours for triple R (rapid runway repair), but we were done in just over 90 minutes," said Naylor. "The training CE regularly goes through at Dover helped make this major exercise seem routine,"

According to Senior Airman Scott Walther, a 436th Operation Support Squadron troop who worked as a security augmentee at the Wing Operation Center during the IGX, this inspection was very similar to the Operation Readiness Inspections which preceded the IGX a few years ago. During the ORIs, entire wings would deploy at one time. With the current IGX system, 20 or 30 different groups from different bases assemble to form one wing, although exercise scenarios remained similar.

"The IG members would come around and ask us questions about procedures and job related tasks," said Walther. "They asked us how to administer atropene, what it meant when M-8 tape changed color, and questions pertaining to casualties and chemical attacks."

In addition to battling aggressors, members battled the weather as a heat wave moved across the country.

"The biggest challenge for us was the heat," said Walther. "We were in the masks between two and two and a half hours while sweep teams checked for chemicals and UXOs (unexploded ordnance)."

Col. Scott E. Wuesthoff, 436th Airlift Wing commander said this IGX helped confirm the readiness-level that members stationed at Dover AFB have already come to know.

"This IGX proved the Dover Team is ready, willing and fully capable to perform its mission in a wartime environment," he said.

(FROM DOVER AIR FORCE BASE PUBLIC AFFAIRS)