Final preparations underway for fall inspection

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Wyatt
  • 157th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
PEASE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.H. --  Base officials are making final preparations for the Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection scheduled for Oct. 15 through 21.

A robust schedule of base readiness exercises in February, May and August of this year, and one scheduled for the September Unit Training Assembly, are designed to help N.H. Air National Guard personnel prepare for the NORI.

In August, the Wing had a Sexual Assault Preparedness Response "Stand Down" day on Saturday morning and a one-day aircraft generation exercise on Sunday.

"These exercises and inspections are an important part of the process to validate the Wing's readiness to accomplish the nation's most important missions, including Global Deterrence and Global Strike," said Colonel Paul Hutchinson, 157th Air Refueling Wing commander.

During the September UTA, the wing will have a two-day aircraft generation exercise as well as a Tanker Strategic Aircraft Reconstitution Team (TSART) exercise. The October drill, which has been moved to Oct. 5 and 6, will be to finalize any preparation to ensure the Wing is ready.

"As we approach the final phase of inspection preparation," said Hutchinson, " all airman should be prepared for 24 hour operations and utilize good Operational Resource Management processes to ensure we operate safely and efficiently."

Graded components of the inspection include alert aircraft generation, alert crew response timing, and deployment processing, which also takes into account all of the pre-deployment preparation such as medical readiness and proper packing of deployed equipment. It will also look at the ability of members to set up and operate in a deployed environment.

There are some steps that all personnel can take to better prepare for the inspection, even those who are not actively involved in readiness or deployment preparation. A couple of key ones:

· Know your job and highlight the positive

· Have a sense of urgency

· Be prepared to be recalled to duty

· Ensure your contact information is correct in the Unit Recall Roster and Desktop Alert system

· Practice good information and operation security

· Practice normal military customs and courtesies

· Stay positive: attitude is everything!

"We have outstanding Airmen assigned to Pease with a long history of responding to crises around the globe in our federal mission and to state emergencies here in New Hampshire," said Hutchinson. "I am very confident our folks are well prepared to demonstrate their abilities when called to duty. I am proud to serve with each airman in the 157th Air Refueling Wing."