JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, Washington, D.C. –
What makes the United States military great? Some common answers are superior technology, tactics, diversity and commitment to the American people. While all of those hold true, another applicable reason dates to the founding of our nation — readiness.
From the incredibly mobile minutemen of the American Revolution to the advanced cyber operations of today’s Great Power Competition, the U.S. military’s edge over opponents consists of its ability to fight and win anytime and anywhere.
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling implemented new readiness principles into daily operations from a wing-wide operation order signed on Oct. 22, 2024.
The main purpose of the order is to apply an operational and tactical emphasis on training to achieve success at a moment’s notice in the modern landscape.
“This OPORD provides a framework to deliberately focus on readiness, baking it into our everyday operations,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Ryan A. F. Crowley, commander of JBAB and the 11th Wing.
The everyday operations of JBAB include garrison readiness, contingency response and deployment support. Adapting to change is imperative for Great Power Competition and JBAB is formulating innovative ways in support of future Air Force taskings.
The OPORD provides concepts and ways that the Wing can meet Air Task Force requirements, marking a significant milestone in the journey toward modernization and readiness.
Commanders are empowered to add additional training plans to coincide with daily taskings.
Crowley said that this plan gives the Wing a chance to focus on its everyday responsibilities while bolstering its ability to answer the nation’s call.
The end state is that trained and ready forces can meet minimum readiness requirements and institutionalized readiness practices in daily mission execution. There is a phased approach of crawl, walk and run cycles to ensure positive training on unit-level readiness practices.
“By starting with the basics and gradually increasing the complexity and difficulty of the tasks and scenarios, we can ensure that we are adequately prepared and capable of responding to any emergency,” said Lindsay Oher, 11th Wing inspector general.
Field training exercises are planned to include a variety of scenarios and challenges that simulate real-world emergency situations, such as extremist attacks, consequence management in the National Capital Region and deployment taskings in support of national special security events and military conflicts.
“They will provide an opportunity for the wing to apply and demonstrate its skills and capabilities, and for individual service members to gain valuable experience and training,” said Oher.
The increased operational emphasis on training is designed to support the Air Force Force Generation model, also known as AFFORGEN, and posture the wing for success as the Air Force advances toward Great Power Competition.
“Our training and exercises for readiness will prepare our wing and members to successfully fight and win at each stage [of the model],” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Goins, 11th Wing chief of Plans and Programs.
The commitment each individual member of JBAB has to each other and the greater good has a vital role in readiness.
“Our ability to stay together, to keep the end objective in mind, and to remember why each of us signed up to serve will determine whether we fail or succeed when our nation calls us,” said Goins.
The distinction of the U.S. military is not only in its advanced technologies and tactics, but also in its unwavering readiness — a principle that has been with us for centuries. The ability to respond swiftly and effectively to any threat has solidified the U.S. military’s reputation as a formidable force.
As the Air Force looks to the future, maintaining this readiness will be crucial in safeguarding freedom and the commitment to the American people.