Photo By Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire | Aerial porters assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing, 621st Contingency...... read more read more
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WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. -- More than 150 Soldiers and Airmen conducted round-the-clock aerial port and cargo-transfer operations in exercise Turbo Distribution, March 12-17, 2025 at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. This exercise flexes the U.S. Department of Defense’s capability of rapidly assessing airfields and opening aerial port operations by moving approximately 215 cargo tons through a small airfield into a contested theater of operations in just a few days.
This is the primary task of the Contingency Response Element, or CRE, a specialized unit of highly-skilled Airmen from diverse career fields. The CRE operating in the exercise is from the 621st Contingency Response Squadron, 621st Contingency Response Wing.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Zachary Sweigert is the first sergeant for the squadron, and Turbo Distribution was his first exercise with the team. “I got to see the whole picture. In our qualification training, we learned the basics, but here we were building tents and living in expeditionary conditions. It gave me a better understanding of how we operate together in the contingency environment, and how cargo airflow works for rapid humanitarian aid.
“I also get to plug and play and be whatever I need to be to augment any important task,” Sweigert said. “I marshalled a C-17 in the morning and returned fire toward hostile forces at an entry control point in the evening.”
U.S. Army Soldiers from the 155th Inland Cargo Transfer Company, 11th Transportation Battalion (Terminal), 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) are also playing in the exercise.
“Our task is to receive cargo at the airfield, put it on trucks, and track it as we move it to our forward distribution yard, where it can be picked up by customers,” U.S. Army Capt. Mary Hull, the company commander, said. “My team’s ability to integrate with our Air Force counterparts to track and move cargo as a joint force has been cool to see.”
Together with the CRE, the 155 ICTC combined to form the Joint Task Force-Port Opening (JTF-PO), commanded by U.S. Air Force Col. J.D. Foy, 621st Contingency Response Group commander. “We are able to work nonstop around the clock running upload and download operations on two aircraft at a time. That is a lot of cargo full of food, water, blankets and medicine that is able to save lives and provide hope to places that are in dire need of both.”
Even though many CRE members were on their first exercise, they demonstrated exceptional teamwork to accomplish the mission.
“We’re really good at coming together as a team and implementing the Mission-Ready Airmen concept,” U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Sean Cawley, CRE Security Forces flight chief, said. “People are willing to drop what they’re doing and help with other tasks, even outside their specialties and the more reps we do, the more proficient we become. Things like setting up tents, generators, and comm systems only makes this exercise more valuable.”
Many tasks were new to the members, including the JTF-PO commander himself. Foy said, “Exercising hand in hand with the 155 ICTC and the medical team out of Charleston are both new experiences for me. I have to remember the Soldiers operating at the forward node are part of our team when it comes to accountability, safety, medical, and communications. And having the medical team with us gives us a holistic look at living conditions, food and water sources, and mental health and welfare checks. Their addition to the operation is a true mission enhancer that is key to keeping our Soldiers and Airmen healthy and ready for the fight.”
Foy said that the tactical lessons learned during the exercise pay strategic dividends.
“The joint capability that we bring to the fight is an impressive capability that the DoD has at their disposal,” Foy said. “Being able to take an existing runway anywhere in the world and quickly provide operations that can bring in life-saving aid and supplies is a skill that few other countries can accomplish.”
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.18.2025 12:37 |
| Story ID: | 493114 |
| Location: | WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 506 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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