About two dozen airmen from across the globe spent two weeks at Ft. Campbell, Ky., learning everything from convoy operations to how to egress a mine- resistant, ambush-protected vehicle when it rolls over. They were among 200 participants in the Army’s Expeditionary Contracting Command’s Operation Joint Dawn 2011. The largest joint exercise of its kind, Joint Dawn is designed to train military contractors how to operate in a contingency environment with a special emphasis on deployments to US Central Command’s area of responsibility. Col. Roger Westermeyer, director of contracting at Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah, emphasized the importance of joint training, saying airmen work alongside soldiers, sailors, and marines while deployed to joint regional contracting centers. “[I]f that’s the way we’re going to operate in theater, then we should train that way now,” Westermeyer said. (Ft. Campbell report by Ed Worley)
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.