POPE ARMY AIRFIELD, N.C. —
While accomplishing the joint mobility Battalion Mass Tactical Week 25-02 with the U.S. Army, the 43rd Air Mobility Operations Group (AMOG) successfully completed Air Mobility Command’s first no-notice Combat Readiness Inspection (CRI) Jan. 26-31, 2025.
Combat Readiness Inspections are designed to evaluate the limits of logistics, readiness and interoperability of units to simulate large-scale global deployment of forces. Gathering Wing Inspection Teams (WIT), Inspectors Generals (IG) and subject matter experts, CRIs allow personnel to evaluate, report their findings, identify successes and remove inefficiencies by documenting what occurred.
“We had an exercise planned to execute on top of BMTW,” Col. Allen C. Morris Jr., 43rd AMOG commander explained. “That exercise was a readiness evaluation internal to the [43rd AMOG] in preparation for our CRI which was scheduled in March on top of Storm Flag. The no-notice came about because the Immediate Response Force, the ‘Ready Brigade’ from the 82nd Airborne Division, got put on an alert status when forces started flowing toward the Southwest border.”
The planning of CRIs typically occurs approximately one year prior to the event. After advice and counsel from Brig. Gen. Stephen P. Snelson, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center Commander, Morris believed the organization and its Airmen were ready to perform. Inspections such as these are massive undertakings and require all participating parties to be on the same beat to perform and evaluate effectively.
“CRI is a new terminology executed by Air Mobility Command – a relook at exercises to make them more applicable to get after readiness for the units,” said Lt. Col. Dan “Bull” Diemer, 43rd AMOG Inspector General. “[The evaluation consisted of] primarily the elements of the mission directive of the 43rd AMOG, the mission essential tasks that are assigned to the units within the 43rd AMOG, and our ability to execute outload operations in a contested environment.”
Several originating factors went into the expediting and shortening of the planning phase. Pope and the 43rd AMOG were working to meet a deadline of a re-inspection that occurred in February of 2024. Additionally, a new team of WIT members and IG was formed. To allow these members to complete their formal training as IG, Pope conducted multiple training events in throughout 2024. These events, from executing Personnel Deployment (PDF) Lines to Storm Flag, were built to codify and establish credibility in preparation for the CRI.
The preparation for the inspection scheduled for March 2025 was already a daunting task, but the members of Team Pope stuck by their mantra of “Willing, Able and Ready – Anytime, Anywhere.”
“In addition to that shortened planning cycle, we were also trying to keep up with the changing guidance from AMC,” Diemer elaborated. “They had recently released AMC IG [instructions] which direct the units on how to construct their exercises to get after the operations and the maintenance functions that they wanted to see – exercising at an appropriate enough level to prepare us for future battles and warfare.”
“[This demonstrated] the ability of the unit to prove readiness months before we were scheduled,” he continued. “All the events are kind of the road map leading up to that eventual March inspection, but we had been practicing educating and getting feedback at a fast enough pace that we felt confident that even if AMC came down in January, we would be ready to execute. The biggest achievement in my mind is that pace of readiness that we’re able to get after.”
Diemer’s sentiments concerning Pope’s ability to respond and readjust fire in execution were reaffirmed by Morris when initiating the CRI.
“I was willing to take the risk because I was confident in the group and in the squadrons. The squadron commanders have been training their people and getting stuff done, and they were ready to perform. Were we prepared? Yeah, we were prepared, but this is what Air Mobility Command has tasked all the commanders to be ready for. If you have a big exercise, don’t be shocked when AMC rolls in and says, ‘Execute your war plan. This is now a Combat Readiness inspection – no-notice.’”
As the commander closed out the interview, he switched gears from the talk of lethality of execution and adhering to standards of readiness requirements to passing on words of affirmation for the Airmen of Team Pope.
“I’m proud of them! They rose to the occasion, and they upped their game. They increased their readiness, and then they performed their combat mission. I’m proud of the squadron commanders, the leadership teams, the Airmen, the NCOs, the IG Team and the front-line supervisors. They should feel immense pride,” Morris touted.
“The crowning achievement for anybody’s command time should be that they were ready. It’s kind of like winning the World Series. You act like you’ve been there before. ‘Of course we did – no big deal.’ You get the ring for being ready,” he concluded.
