Ramstein Air Base, Germany -- The 152nd Air Operations Group (AOG), a part of the 174th Attack Wing (ATKW) based at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, N.Y., sent over 75 airmen to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to work with our active-duty Air Force counterpart for training on real-world situations.
“The training is part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to show unity, strength, and effort in the European command,” said Col. John Meili, 152nd AOG commander.
The 152nd participates in this training once per year as part of the European Command (EUCOM) assigned readiness requirement.
Once the airmen get to base, they undergo in-processing training particular to the base. Afterward, they go through different scenarios of things that could happen.
“The exercises that are conducted are central to the 174th ATKW’s operational readiness and ability to posture ready, relevant, and agile forces necessary to meet the enduring demands of our assigned combatant command,” said Col. Meili.
With things moving so fast, there would seem to be a heavy learning curve, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue with the members who participated. Many of the airmen from the 152nd came in and were immediately impactful.
Major Gen. Denise M. Donnell, Commander of the New York Air National Guard, presented Airman 1st Class Kaylee Eck with a coin for her outstanding work during the training.
Eck does air tasking order production and has been with the 152nd for over a year. She spoke of one of the most exciting things about the training: meeting new people and learning from the active-duty members. When asked about how she felt receiving her coin from Major Gen. Donnell, she replied:
“That was amazing, and it was great being able to meet her,” said Eck. “She’s awesome.”
Though many of the airmen were members of the 152nd AOG, some members were there to observe our efforts. The observing Airmen included members from the Public Affairs Office, IG, Finance, and Operations.
Having observers allows wing leadership to get a different perspective on the training.
“One of the things I caught was how smooth everything went,” said Master Sgt. Dean Lansley of the 174th ATKW’s IG office. “There were a few obstacles, and just the confidence of our airmen to come in, get spun up on things, and make a huge contribution was just phenomenal.”