SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (USTCNS) --- In an initiative to enhance the presentation of mobility forces and streamline manning and resources, Air Mobility Command officials will realign and reduce its Lead Mobility Wing mission from five to two wings.
This new LMW structure will take effect with Aerospace Expeditionary Force Cycle 3 in March.
When the then-chief of staff of the Air Force, Gen. Michael D. Ryan, first announced the AEF lead wings in March 1999, he designated five AMC wings as Lead Mobility Wings. AMC's LMWs were the 43rd Airlift Wing, Pope AFB, N.C.; 60th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, Calif.; 22nd Air Refueling Wing, McConnell AFB, Kan; 319th ARW, Grand Forks AFB, N.D.; and 92nd ARW, Fairchild AFB, Wash. Beginning next March, AMC's LMWs will be the 60th AMW and the 305th AMW, McGuire AFB, N.J.
These wings are charged to provide air mobility leadership to the AEFs. In addition to the wing's primary mobility mission, the LMW is responsible for providing mobility leadership and a 33-member Initial Response Team for humanitarian relief operations, disaster response and contingencies. Responding to crises worldwide, the IRT deploys rapidly to assess local conditions, prepare the airfield to serve as a reception base for humanitarian relief, and assist in the beddown of follow-on forces. Working with an AMC Tanker Airlift Control Element (TALCE), they facilitate the flow of aid to the disaster victims.
Travis and McGuire were chosen as LMWs in part to link them with existing Air Mobility Operations Groups - the 615th AMOG at Travis and the 621st AMOG at McGuire - to enhance their crisis-response capabilities. The AMOGs provide expertise in mobile command and control, and airfield operations. Their ability to rapidly deploy to austere locations and provide airlift and tanker throughput is key to the LMW's success.
"The realignment of our Lead Mobility Wings with our AMOGs is a natural evolution of the LMW concept," said Gen. Charles T. "Tony" Robertson, then-AMC commander during the realignment. "The original five LMWs did a superb job of refining the key processes that now enable us to move to the next level of rapid response capability. Given the outstanding teams and obvious geographical advantages, Travis and McGuire are the logical home base choices for our next generation of LMW operations."
Robertson retired from the Air Force Nov 5.
"Because the AMOGs already have this premiere deployment expertise and their primary job is to train and be ready for these contingencies, it just makes sense to link up the LMWs with the AMOGs to provide an IRT-TALCE team for humanitarian relief," said Col. Steve Hellwege, chief of AMC's operations plans division. "Our leadership came to this decision based on feedback from LMW training and exercising during the past two years and a natural maturing of the LMW concept. The realignment gives these two wings and their collocated AMOGs the primary mission for short-notice humanitarian response and releases the other wings from this additional duty. Our former LMWs will go on with their core mobility missions and will continue to support other aspects of the AEF."
Hellwege also noted, "The LMW redesignations will bring AMC's LMWs in alignment with the Aerospace Expeditionary Wings, the Air Force's two combat-response wings. Beginning with the AEF cycle, Travis will be on "response duty" for 120 days - instead of the previous 90 days -- with Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and McGuire's 120-day rotations will be paired with Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C…"
"Our LMWs and the AEWs will act much like 'sister wings' for full spectrum AEF operations. The AEWs will respond to combat situations while we handle mobility operations," said Hellwege. "Another advantage with the new LMW alignment is their stationing at our major east and west coast mobility hubs. There will be more airlift assets immediately available to move our equipment and people."
AMC vice commander, Lt. Gen. Ronald C. Marcotte, praised the original LMWs for their initiative in taking the LMW plan and establishing a viable rapid response force for humanitarian missions.
"They (LMWs) have shouldered the burden of short-notice humanitarian relief with considerable energy and enthusiasm," he said. "They built a fledgling LMW concept of operations into a credible initial-responding force for humanitarian relief. I know the two LMWs and their AMOG partners will continue this record of excellence as they provide theater commanders with the capability to assess airfields at disaster sites, receive follow-on forces, and establish a mobility base for the reception of humanitarian relief."
(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
