304th Sustainment Brigade Moves to March Air Reserve Base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Joe Davidson
  • 452 AMW/PA
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. --    A joint Air Force and Army deployment exercise began in the early hours July 15 when five C-17s from the 729th Airlift Squadron and two KC-135s from the 336th Air Refueling Squadron were tasked with supporting the Army Reserve's 304th Sustainment Brigade, headquartered in West Los Angeles.
  The exercise scenario, similar to those used by the Department of Homeland Security in its exercises, simulated the impending arrival of a giant surge wave to the Southern California coast. The wave was caused by a massive earthquake under the Pacific Ocean labeled so "Great" in proportion that it was expected to produce flood like conditions over large areas of Los Angeles by mid-day, affecting travel on major roadways.
  The seven aircraft from Air Force Reserve Command's 452nd Air Mobility Wing took off heading toward Naval Air Station Point Mugu as summer temperatures soared into the low 100s.
  Meanwhile, members of the 304th had departed from their location in Los Angeles, also heading for Point Mugu, in typical convoy fashion driving heavy trucks and Humvees carrying supplies.
  The deployment exercise was the brainchild of local leadership from both the Army and Air Force. The brigade needed to permanently relocate personnel and equipment to March ARB. The exercise presented a unique opportunity to perform the relocation while providing disaster scenario training for the Air Force and Army units.
  Commander of the 311th Sustainment Command, Brig. Gen. William Frink, was on hand for the exercise and noted the sense of teamwork displayed by all of the players.
"The 304th Sustainment Brigade did ... the planning in coordination with the 452nd Air Mobility Wing," said General Frink. "When members of the unit came to March months ago and met with the wing commander, they came up with this idea mutually. They just built upon it by doing all of the work at the unit level. They used their own initiative and took care of all of the planning that included hundreds of hours of work, and I think it's going to really pay off. It's helped to get the unit relocated quickly and has also proven to be a valuable training tool."
  Col. Jeffrey Barnson, 452nd AMW vice commander, said history has put the Air Force and Army together in mutually supporting situations and it's a trend likely to continue.