Alamo Wing up to the challenge at Patriot Hook 2015

  • Published
  • By Capt. Cris Medina
  • 433rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  Challenge is defined as "a demanding or stimulating situation," and the 433rd Airlift Wing's Airlift Control Flight was certainly up to the challenge as they embarked here in support of the Air Force Reserve Command's Patriot Hook exercise, April 15-20.

Patriot Hook is an AFRC-sponsored joint Department of Defense and federal agency exercise that focuses on integrated air mobility training and testing the viability of coordinated security, disaster and medical response operations.

Operations occurred at three sites -- Naval Air Station North Island, California, Joint Forces Training Center at Los Alamitos, and the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field on San Clemente Island.

The more than 300 military personnel who participated tested their security, disaster and medical response skills but helped move tons of cargo as part of the joint-service, air-mobility and contingency-response exercise.

The Patriot Hook program began in the early 1990s in response to limited training opportunities. It has since become an annual event.

"Patriot Hook is the oldest exercise we have at AFRC, and it's a cornerstone exercise, in which we use to upgrade our cadre members, use it for currency and proficiency for our existing cadre, and we also use it do integrate non-DOD agencies into the Air Force community" said Lt. Col. Gordon J. Griggs, HQ AFRC A3OM Readiness and Programs branch chief, Robins AFB, Georgia.

AFRC units in this year's exercise were the 433rd Airlift Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas; 452nd Air Mobility Wing, March Air Reserve Base, California, the 439th AW, Westover Air Reserve Base, Massachusetts and the 315th Airlift Control Flight, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina.

With the many different units involved, coordination and communication between the different elements is critical but also helps to foster relationships that prove to be instrumental to mission success.

"Building relationships with the different affiliates makes our job easier when we begin our planning and JI (joint inspection), in order to complete the mission. And it has a dual benefit for us in that we receive training as our affiliates are being trained as well" said Master Sgt. Jesse Lopez, Jr., air transportation craftsman with the 733rd Training Squadron.

When deployed, the 433rd ALCF becomes a contingency response element. The element consists of aerial port; aerospace ground equipment; loadmasters; personnel and command post personnel.

At San Clemente Island, the 433rd ALCF was the lead agency for the exercise and managed, coordinated and controlled air mobility assets.

Once on the ground, the element began setting up command and control on the bare-base section of the island to provide aircrew management, aircraft flight following, maintenance of aircraft, and the loading and unloading of aircraft.

"Although we do this (Patriot Hook) every year, this gives us an opportunity for what they call, The Rainbow Concept, of partnering with our sister units and our new personnel to exercise our mission," said Maj. Robert M. Acosta, 433rd ALCF and Contingency Response Element commander.

"So even though it's the same in a name, it is always a different mission; with different people and different challenges, it's a continual improvement process of shaping and honing our combat skills," said Acosta. "It gives us an opportunity to refine our mission essential tasks, and teaches us what it will take to support a real-world mission."

Partnerships with affiliates are also an important aspect to the training conducted during Patriot Hook.

Affiliates in this year's exercise were the U.S. Coast Guard, the FBI's Rapid Deployment Team, Los Angeles; Federal Emergency Management Agency California Task Forces, and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

The FBI's Critical Incident Response Group relies on the training received at the annual Patriot Hook exercise.

"The Air Force facilitates a strategic partnership for us to be able to jointly respond to an international crisis, with a nexus to the FBI's investigative jurisdiction and responsibility. We certainly cannot do our work without the habitual relationships built with AFRC and the Air Force at large", said Scott P. MacCracken, FBI supervisory special agent.

"More importantly, when a crisis arises, it won't be the first time we've worked with the Air Force to ensure our readiness for a deployment" said MacCracken.