Photo By Capt. Andrew Layton | C-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to the 700th Airlift Squadron, 94th Airlift Wing,...... read more read more
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RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany – From April 9-24, two C-130H Hercules aircraft and more than 50 Airmen assigned to the 700th Airlift Squadron, 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., participated in the first two-week rotation of Silver Arrow 19, a six-month surge of airlift capability within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility staged from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Each rotation under Silver Arrow 19 delivers two C-130H aircraft, which during periods of high demand can augment U.S. combatant command requirements, support readiness events under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) exercise program, and enable other unique mission and unit training requirements as needed.
Silver Arrow rotations have operated from Ramstein AB annually since 2017, supported by aircrews and personnel from across the U.S Air Force’s Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve components.
“One or two aircraft doesn’t sound like a lot, but those additional aircraft are actually quite a robust capability for a combatant commander to tap into,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Scofield, Silver Arrow project officer, 187th Airlift Squadron, 153rd Airlift Wing, Cheyenne Air National Guard Base, Wyo.
“Given the relatively small footprint of personnel that we are, we’ve been told that commanders are very happy with Silver Arrow and the product that we deliver.”
Silver Arrow 19 kicked off April 9 with the arrival of personnel and aircraft assigned to the 94th AW, the first of 10 Wings supporting Silver Arrow between now and Sept. 30. The crews flew a total of 28 sorties during their two-week stint in Germany, including short-notice cargo deliveries, aeromedical evacuation training flights, and a real-world medical evacuation. Additionally, one Dobbins C-130H was sent to Verona, Italy for three days to support a multinational Joint Airborne/Air Transportability Training (JA/ATT) mission.
“The mission to Italy essentially meant teaming up with Army forces and providing a platform for them to conduct their training jump,” said Lt. Col. Greg Finkbiner, C-130H navigator, 700th AS, 94th AW. “The paratroopers we dropped were a mixture of Italian, British, and U.S. military personnel.”
Continual exercises and interactions between allied and partner forces such as this are an important symbol of the U.S.’s commitment to its European allies. Participation in multinational exercises also allows for collaboration to address security threats and enables all participants to contribute to international coalitions.
Despite the fact that its sorties are often tasked at short notice, Silver Arrow has established a very high mission completion ratio. For its aircrews, the readiness to respond with agility in support of both training and real-world requirements is part of a normal day’s work.
“A majority of the missions come down from the 603rd Air Operations Center at Ramstein AB, which Silver Arrow is primarily here to support,” said 1st Lt. Patrick Dyson, Silver Arrow mission planning cell coordinator and C-130H navigator, 700th AS. “We’ve had missions when we’ve had to launch with 48 hours’ notice. In those cases, there’s always a prioritization for U.S. Air Forces Europe-tasked missions over any other training flights we may have on the schedule.”
According to Scofield, planning to make Silver Arrow a highly-agile theater asset begins nearly a year before rotations begin arriving in Europe.
“We basically start planning with the after-action report from the previous season,” he said. “Silver Arrow requires a lot of buy-in from a lot of units, so it’s about a four-month effort just to get the schedule of participation fully populated. There’s a great deal of coordination with the units, with USAFE, and base agencies, which makes it a fun challenge.”
With tangible real-world benefits and high value toward maintaining aircrew readiness and proficiency, Scofield says the biggest challenge in securing coverage for each Silver Arrow rotation is simply finding the right time for a unit to send personnel that balances with other events and exercises they have already been tasked to support.
“There’s a lot of training value in every mission we fly, so most units are eager to send their Airmen to Silver Arrow, and some come more than one year in a row,” said Scofield. “There’s definitely mutual benefit from a training aspect for our members who deploy here, as well as what we do to support our audience, whether that’s the Army, special operations forces, and particularly partner nations. We see it as a win-win for sure.”
With about 50 Airmen maintaining operations for reach rotation, the actual footprint of Silver Arrow at Ramstein AB is fairly small. However, hundreds more support the logistics and deployment readiness process from each of the various installations that send aircraft and personnel for Silver Arrow rotations. For most of these Guard and Reserve specialists, the opportunity to ensure readiness and proficiency is still present, even if they are not part of the aircraft support package that travels overseas.
“Back home, this operation exercises the logistics process; getting everybody out of town,” said Finkbiner. “It’s not just the aircrews who get to come here to Ramstein that benefit, it’s also the support personnel back home that are getting to do their job that they don’t get to do very often.”
For much of May, the 934th Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, Minn. will be supporting Silver Arrow, including participation in exercise Immediate Response 19. Immediate Response is a multinational readiness exercise co-led by Croatian Armed Forces, Slovenian Armed Forces, and U.S. Army Europe, which will be highlighted by several airborne jumps, air assaults, medical training, and the establishment and integration of a multinational battalion with forces from several nations.
Other units scheduled to conduct Silver Arrow rotations this summer include the 133rd Airlift Wing, Minneapolis-St. Paul JARS, Minn.; 153rd Airlift Wing, Cheyenne ANGB, Wyo.; 302d Airlift Wing, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; 908th Airlift Wing, Maxwell AFB, Ala.; 403rd Airlift Wing, Keesler AFB, Miss.; 166th Airlift Wing, Newcastle ANGB, Del.; 179th Airlift Wing, Mansfield ANGB, Ohio; and the 130th Airlift Wing, McLaughlin ANGB, W. Va.
Silver Arrow 19 is underwritten with $3.45 million from the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), a Department of Defense fund that enhances responsiveness and readiness by pre-positioning assets and equipment, as well as by improving infrastructure to support day-to-day activities within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility. The EDI also enhances the U.S.’s ability to provide a rapid response against threats made by aggressive regional actors.
Scofield is quick to point out that for a small operation, the value of Silver Arrow’s product is a smart investment for the American taxpayer.
“Our maintainers, our crews, and all of our support staff take a lot of pride in the job that we do,” he said. “I think that’s the special thing about Silver Arrow; there’s a lot of fulfillment if you are a participating member of the team, and if you’re a person holding the purse strings, seeing what we’re able to do with very great efficiency.”
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2019 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 320216 |
| Location: | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, DE |
| Web Views: | 559 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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