News>Where and How: Mobility Exercise Shows Airmen How to Deploy
Photos
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Members of the 927th Air Refueling Wing, a reserve unit of more than 800 Airmen, review the contents of mobility bags as they prepare to pick up gear for a mock deployment June 2, 2012 at MacDill AFB, Fla. Several units in the 927th ARW participated in a mobility exercise designed to help Airman prepare for deployments by demonstrating the items and steps needed to deploy. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Members of the 927th Air Refueling Wing, a reserve unit of more than 800 Airmen, review the contents of mobility bags as they prepare to pick up gear for a mock deployment June 2, 2012 at MacDill AFB, Fla. Several units in the 927th ARW were participating in a mobility exercise designed to help Airman prepare for deployments by demonstrating the items and steps needed to deploy. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Members of the 927th Air Refueling Wing receive an in-processing briefing as part of a mobility line June 2, 2012 at MacDill AFB, Fla. Several units in the 927th ARW were participating in a mobility exercise designed to help Airman prepare for deployments by demonstrating the items and steps needed to deploy. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Staff Sgt. Nikki Cook, 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, awaits a final look-over of her paperwork after processing through a mobility line March 2, 2012 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Staff Sgt. Cook, a reservist with the 927th Air Refueling Wing, participated in a mobility exercise designed to simulate the experience of preparing for a deployment. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Airman 1st Class Diego Llanes, 6th Logistics Readiness Squadron, assists Captain Carolina Mogollon, 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, as she processes through a mobility line June 2, 2012 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Mogollon is a reservist with the 927th Air Refueling Wing and was participating in a mobility exercise designed to simulate a deployment. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- A member of the 927th Air Refueling Wing reviews his Airman's Manual as he waits for a pre-deployment briefing to begin June 2, 2012 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. The 927th ARW is a reserve wing headquartered at MacDill AFB and over 180 of its members participated in a mobility exercise designed to simulate a deployment. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Staff Sgt. Wardrecka Oxendine, 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, is cleared to enter the final briefing of a mobility exercise sponsored by the 927th Air Refueling Wing June 2, 2012 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. The exercise ensured Oxendine had all the proper paperwork in place in case she needs to deploy, including up-to-date insurance paperwork, identification cards, and dog tags. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Several base agencies, including the 927th Air Refueling Wing Chaplains, were on hand to distribute material during a mobility exercise June 2, 2012 at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. More than 180 members of the 927th ARW, a reserve wing headquartered at MacDill AFB, participated in an exercise designed to simulate the steps that Airmen will have to take in case they are deployed. (Official U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jennie Chamberlin)
by Jennie Chamberlin
927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
6/4/2012 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- More than 180 members of the 927th Air Refueling Wing participated in a mobility exercise at MacDill Air Force Base, June 2, 2012. Several of the wing's units participated in the exercise, which was designed to simulate the steps that Airmen will need to take in the event of a deployment.
After assembling their members and a role call, members of the units processed through several mobility lines. These lines ensure that large groups of people are able to review their paperwork, gather necessary supplies and receive important travel and safety information before departing for a deployment.
Lieutenant Col. Matthew Stork, medical readiness officer for the 927th Aerospace Medicine Clinic, said these exercises are important because it allows Airmen to be proactive in preparing for a deployment. Stork, a five-time deployment veteran, said that many of the Airmen in his unit have never mobilized, and exercises like this are an opportunity for Airmen to make sure everything they would need is in place.
"It gives an awareness of what it'll be like if we ever deploy. We train like we fight, and we need to be prepared and ready," he said.
Part of being ready includes making sure all the information in a service member's record is accurate, said Technical Sgt. Mary McCarthy, 927th Force Support Squadron. In a mobility line, Airmen's records are reviewed to make sure their life insurance, identification cards, dog tags and other paperwork are current and in compliance with Air Force regulations.
As a first-time mobility line participant, Senior Airman Michael Spears, 927th Security Forces Squadron, said the whole process was very helpful in illustrating just how to prepare for a deployment.
"This is how you find out who you are going with, where you're going, and how you're going to get there."
