SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. —
Air Mobility Command teamed up with the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC), Air Combat Command and Air Force Global Strike Command to execute Exercise Bamboo Eagle 24-3, July 30 to Aug. 11, 2024, across the western United States and Pacific Ocean.
Mobility Airmen used the eight-day exercise to practice mobility operations in a combat representative environment and emphasize mobility’s crucial role in wartime operations.
“[Other exercises] are scripted — the schedule is set; the different units get to talk face-to-face and mission plan together,” said Lt. Col. Ian Osterreicher, 34th Fighter Squadron commander. “Bamboo Eagle is unlike anything else. There is no script.”
“It’s important because that is what will happen [in conflict],” he said. “You’ll go somewhere you’ve never been before with people you’ve never worked with and be asked to do something you’ve never done before.”
In this unpredictable environment, the range and flexibility the Mobility Air Force provides was on full display as approximately 3,000 service members operated, maintained and supported over 150 aircraft and crews in more than 10 locations. AMC Airmen provided mobility ops through contingency response (CR) units, tactical airlift, air-to-air refueling and command and control capabilities, ensuring the Joint Force can adapt, deploy and redeploy rapidly and overcome challenges of time and distance.
The KC-46 Pegasus played a major role in the exercise, conducting 24-hour operations that supported and refueled U.S. Air Force F-15Es, F-22s, F-16s, U.S. Marine F-35s and Royal Air Force F-35s.
Participating AMC units included the 6th Airlift Squadron, 15 Airlift Squadron, 32nd Air Refueling Squadron, 61st Airlift Squadron, 91st Air Refueling Squadron, 344th Air Refueling Squadron, 384 Air Refueling Squadron, and 621st Contingency Response Wing.
“Bamboo Eagle tested and improved the integration of mobility, combat, bomber and joint, which is key to joint force and international partner success,” said Lt. Col. Aaron Hines, AMC Joint exercise planner.
“We enable the joint force,” said Maj. Andrew Doenitz, 32nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander” Expanding our capabilities increases their lethality.”
BE 24-3 was an opportunity for the mobility air forces (MAF) to test their approach to command relationships, determining how best to posture forces, run cargo operations, direct base efforts and establish the tempo for flight operations. As threats evolve and the need for austere location operations increases, AMC continues to establish rapid global mobility to support the Joint Force.
“AMC’s continued efforts to achieve maximum combat effectiveness are key to enabling and sustaining the Joint Force’s success now and into the future,” Hines said.
BE 24-3 showcased the CR teams’ role in mobility and Joint Force success and demonstrated their ability to prep austere locations for fighter aircraft and larger follow-on forces. During the exercise, CR tested contingency support element (CSE) teams, which consist of eight to ten personnel, and equipment necessary for Command and Control, joint air cargo inspection, aircraft maintenance, force protection and communication support. During BE 24-3, CSEs operated multiple airfield locations to simulate setting up and operating from remote airfields in the Pacific.
“Our goal in this exercise is to provide the Air Expeditionary Wing commander the force packages necessary to achieve hub and spoke operations,” said Maj. Jacob Draszkiewicz, 621st Contingency Response Wing Executive Officer and 521st Contingency Response element (CRE) commander for BE 24-3. “The 521 CRE can quickly generate CSE teams to be dynamically tasked from the hub and sent forward to multiple spokes. The CSE teams have been tailored to be as agile as possible for Bamboo Eagle, providing greater flexibility to be tasked more quickly throughout the spokes.”
The AMC mission sets accomplished during BE 24-3 were part of AFFORGEN certification events, designed to ensure that Airmen are prepared to execute dynamic operations across different areas of responsibility.
“Bamboo Eagle exemplifies the Air Force’s commitment to reoptimize for Great Power Competition,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, USAFWC commander. “In today’s rapidly evolving strategic landscape, exercises serve as pivotal components of our readiness strategy. This exercise underscores our commitment to countering anti-access threats and retaining our ability to project power globally, at a time and place of our choosing.”
BE 24-3 was a prime example of how the Air Force employs large-scale exercises and mission-focused training, encompassing multiple operational plans to demonstrate and rehearse for complex, large-scale military operations.
“AMC proved that the tyrannies of geography in the Pacific are not an insurmountable boxed canyon, but a challenge – to relish, to dominate and to win,” said Gen. Mike Minihan, commander of Air Mobility Command. “The Joint Force exudes strength because of mobility.”
