By Delanie Stafford, 55th Wing Public Affairs / Published February 01, 2019
Staff Sgt. Jianna Goto, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron decentralized material support supervisor coordinates cargo requirements inside the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska Jan. 29, 2019. The members participated in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc that tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Delanie Stafford)
Member of the 55th Logistics Readiness Squadron move cargo around the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell yard at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. Jan. 29, 2019 while participating in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. The exercise tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Offutt Airmen board a bus after processing through an exercise deployment line of the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska Jan. 29, 2019. The members participated in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc that tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Delanie Stafford)
Members of Team Offutt line the walls of the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. More than 600 members of the base took part in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Staff Sgt. Jianna Goto, left, and Senior Airman Dylan Gilbert, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron decentralized material support specialists, weigh cargo inside the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell yard at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska Jan. 29, 2019, as part of a deployment exercise. The members participated in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc that tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy large amounts of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Delanie Stafford)
A member of Team Offutt coordinates the weighing of cargo Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. More than 600 members of the base took part in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Offutt Airmen weigh cargo inside the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell yard at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska Jan. 29, 2019, while participating in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. The exercise tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Delanie Stafford)
Airman Danuta Lukaszynska, 55th logistics Readiness Squadron, issues mobility bags to members of Team Offutt Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The base participated in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Offutt Airmen move cargo inside the Installation Deployment Readiness Cell yard at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska Jan. 29, 2019, while participating in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. The exercise tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Delanie Stafford)
Senior Airman Christopher Orange, 55th Communications Squadron, loads his mobility bags onto a cargo truck Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. Orange was taking in part in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Members of Team Offutt receive briefings in the passenger terminal Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. More than 600 members of the base took part in Phase I of Operational Readiness Exercise Winter Havoc. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Members of Team Offutt process through the pre-deployment function line Jan. 29, 2019, on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The exercise tested Offutt’s ability to process and deploy a large amount of personnel and equipment on short notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)
Offutt Airmen battled through some of the coldest weather to hit Nebraska in decades as they participated in the first 2019 Operational Readiness Exercise held here January 28 – 30. The exercise, appropriately named Winter Havoc, tested Offutt’s ability to process a large amount of troops and cargo.
Offutt Airmen battled through some of the coldest weather to hit Nebraska in decades as they participated in the first 2019 Operational Readiness Exercise held here January 28 – 30.
The exercise, appropriately named Winter Havoc, tested Offutt’s ability to process a large amount of troops and cargo.
“This was the first time we’ve done an exercise like this in six years,” said Installation Deployment Officer Capt. Samantha Dinardo, who is assigned to the 55th Logistics Readiness Squadron Installation Deployment Readiness Cell. “The scope of the cargo we processed was far larger than what a regular exercise would look like. So this was the first time pretty much the entire base has seen something like this.”
All together, the IDRC and Deployment Control Cell processed 120 increments of cargo, weighing 236.4 short tons, as well as 560 personnel and 10 simulated aircraft called chalks.
For a deployment of this size, 80 additional personnel from across Offutt were trained to augment the IDRC.
The three day exercise ran around the clock and many personnel worked 12 hour shifts. Dinardo said that the size of the exercise as well as the cold weather challenged her team.
Those who worked outdoors with cargo faced frigid temperatures that barely broke zero with wind chills that felt like negative 30 degrees. As a result, personnel had to work in cycles.
“It was cold,” said Staff Sgt. Jianna Goto, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron decentralized material support supervisor. “We just dressed warmly, and after a couple of minutes in the cold, we would go back inside the scale house or inside the building to warm up.”
The cold weather also caused two tractors to break slowing down operations.
Dinardo said the experience gained by her staff and the augmentees will go a long way towards future exercises and deployments.
“We did a decent job,” Dinardo said. “But these things come with practice, and unless we keep practicing it, we won’t get better.”