SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. - U.S. Transportation Command has concluded Turbo Distribution, a Joint Task Force – Port Opening verification exercise, at MidAmerica airport in Mascoutah, Ill. Last week’s exercise focused on the JTF-PO’s ability to operate a disaster relief distribution hub.
For the 135 airmen and soldiers from the 123rd Contingency Response Group, Kentucky Air National Guard, and the U.S. Army’s 689th Rapid Port Opening Element, Fort Eustis, Va., the exercise helped them refine skills in working together to stand up and operate a JTF-PO.
For USTRANSCOM the exercise meant an opportunity to evaluate and verify that the participating Air Force contingency response units and Army rapid port opening forces could effectively receive and distribute cargo to support humanitarian relief operations.
Lead planner for the exercise Chris O’Dell of USTRANSCOM’s Operations Directorate said the verification is an important aspect of the exercise. “The exercise is a critical means by which USTRANSCOM can measure unit performance and ensure that if and when the participating units are called upon to respond to a real-world emergency such as an earthquake, they can perform the tasks that they are assigned,” he said.
O’Dell explained that a USTRANSCOM evaluation team of functional experts from various directorates, Air Mobility Command, and Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command grade participants against a series of Joint Mission Essential Tasks, or JMETS. JMETS serve as the standard to evaluate how well the units can perform the joint mission.
The evaluation team identifies the capabilities required to accomplish the assigned mission and the proficiency required in the performance of a particular key task. The JMETS are used to help the evaluation team evaluate various training events and provides an assessment of how well each of the key tasks was performed.
At the conclusion of the exercise the evaluation team wrote an after-action report and recommended improvements to the joint task force.
O’Dell called the exercise a success, gained through planning and accountability bred by the JMETs methodology, “We accomplished our goals here,” he said. “We wanted to make sure units can do what they are expected to do. We wanted the exercise to serve as a great training event with regards to both Joint and Service-specific training. We wanted our staff at Scott Air Force Base to be able to see what we do. And finally, we wanted to provide a ‘proof of concept’ that the JTF could move into and use a civilian airport and be able to successfully interact with civil authorities.”
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