OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The 55th Wing tested the limits of its warfighting capabilities during its largest and most demanding exercise to date, held March 31 to April 4, as part of a comprehensive combat readiness inspection (CRI).
The exercise, aligned with Iron Lightning 25-2, mobilized over 500 combat-ready Airmen across four locations, spanning over 150 miles, to evaluate the wing’s ability to generate, project, and sustain combat power under the pressures of a congested and degraded operational environment.
Throughout the week, Airmen faced a gauntlet of simulated and unsimulated challenges designed to push the wing’s operational effectiveness, regulatory compliance, and readiness posture to the edge. Scenarios included base defense, perimeter breaches, logistics under duress, equipment failures, and time-critical aircraft generation—replicating the pace and complexity of modern warfare.
Col. Mark Howard, 55th Wing commander, stepped into the adversary role during the CRI, designing scenarios alongside the wing inspector general team to expose vulnerabilities and drive tactical improvement.
“We definitely stressed Offutt really to the breaking point, in some cases intentionally, because we wanted to show ourselves where we were weak so we can fix those weaknesses,” Howard said. “This was the worst week Offutt’s ever seen. We did things that had never been done before on the installation. It lasted longer and it was more involved than any other effect that we’ve done in the history of the installation. It really was that big of a deal.”
Drawing on his 13 years of service at Offutt, Howard used his deep familiarity with the installation to enhance the realism and intensity of the adversary’s play. He led the "red team" in opposition to the “blue team” defenders under the leadership of Col. Aaron Gray, 55th Wing deputy commander. Howard also encouraged other wing commanders in Air Combat Command to consider taking on the adversary role to foster a warrior mindset.
“It sets a level of expectation for the unit that somebody who has been around this installation who knows us well, who knows where our weaknesses are is going to come after us,” Howard said. “I think that’s the best way to frame the readiness mindset and then having the deputy commander play ‘blue side’ as well created a healthy tension, a healthy friction that we played off each other.”
The simulated conflict spanned four separate operational areas. In addition to Offutt AFB, Airmen deployed to austere environments at Camp Ashland, Sioux City, Iowa, Lincoln Airfield, Nebraska—locations transformed into forward operating bases. More than 322,000 pounds of cargo were moved by the 55th Logistics Readiness Squadron to support operations. Three RC-135 Rivet Joints launched from Lincoln, demonstrating the wing’s ability to sustain air operations in degraded and dispersed conditions.
Air Combat Command and Offutt inspector general teams were embedded across all locations to evaluate unit performance under stress—emphasizing real-time decision-making, resiliency, and mission execution in contested environments.
“It tested every single one of us,” said Chief Master Sgt. Andrew Small, 55th Wing command chief. “I knew we would overcome the challenge, but I didn’t know he would test us so hard. There were times during the exercise where we had to get planes off the ground. We had to defend the base all while trying to make sure that there wasn’t somebody trying to run past the security boundaries.”
Looking ahead, Small expressed a desire to expand the opportunity to develop more Airmen through future iterations of the CRI.
“I would like to give more Airmen that experience in the future,” Small said. “We’re going to think through ways how well we performed during this exercise and how much of that we can replicate on a larger scale.”
The 55th Wing received top marks from Air Combat Command for the inspection, validating the unit’s ability to remain lethal, agile, and ready across all mission domains. Leaders attributed this success to the grit and professionalism of their Airmen and civilian teammates.
“All the Airmen, whether they were aircrew or support, were laser focused from minute one to execute the mission,” Gray said. “They were all rolling in the same direction and they knew what the job was, and they gave all they had.”