Category: Military

Source: United States Air Force

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AFNS) —  

Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson, commander of Air Education and Training Command, shared his perspective on developing 21st-century Airmen and Guardians who are ready for the future fight during an Air and Space Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference panel in National Harbor, Sept. 11.

Robinson joined senior leaders from the Air Force Reserve, Space Training and Readiness Command, and the Joint Force staff on the main stage, sharing his message to the force about why building an innate warrior mindset within Airmen and Guardians is critical for peer-to-peer competition in the context of the National Defense Strategy.

“Empower your Airmen at every level, starting with the why,” Robinson said. “Our company grade officers, junior field grade officers, noncommissioned officers, and senior noncommissioned officers are far more capable than we often give them credit for, for doing an exercise untethered with the commander’s intent in their pocket, and the right authorities. We must support and coach them. That is part of how we, collectively as an Air Force, develop our Airmen.”

According to Robinson, it all comes down to Airmen and leaders at all echelons developing their critical thinking skills, being multi-capable and ready for great power competition.

“We want someone who’s biased for action, someone who can respond with what they understand is the right thing to do just based on their commander’s intent, which we see as mission command,” Robinson said.

Noting the embedded and frequent touch points AETC has with both uniformed and civilian Airmen during initial or advanced skills training, as well as formal education, the command is developing methods to inculcate the warrior mindset into an Airman’s DNA from a competencies-based perspective.

“We want to make (the warrior mindset) part of your core foundational competencies,” Robinson told the standing room only audience. “What are the right areas, in the right dose, to introduce Airmen into the idea of the warrior mindset and agile combat employment, and how to think about problems differently?”

The general also talked about how Airmen already apply the mission command concept and its agile relationship to Air Force doctrine.

“It’s frustrating for our competitors that we will step away from doctrine in a heartbeat if it’s not working on a tactical battlefield and find a different way,” Robinson said. “But in the end, we wind up having the agility to understand the commander’s intent…and we figure out a way to get the mission done.”

While discussing how training is evolving at basic military, technical and flying training, as well as at Air University, Robinson referenced operations-based feedback from the force as a driver to the training environment of tomorrow.

“One of the main feedback items from the force on Operation Allies Refuge was ‘if we had only known what this was going to be like, we think we would have been better prepared,’ and that gets back to the readiness piece,” Robinson said. “So we owe touch points on that. Our goal is to make sure we have objectives at the right level, at the right pace and the right quantity.”

When asked about what types of training that the service could do more or less of, Robinson discussed focusing on more “thoughtful” training in the context of strategic competition.

“At a tactical and operational level, I think we can do more training, which obviously comes with the time to do it,” Robinson said. “The training I’m talking about is thoughtful training; thinking about the adversary number one, and number two, concerns that are in the National Defense Strategy. We all know who they are, how they’re going to fight, how they see the battlespace, so think about that from an all-domain perspective and how you’re going to get to the fight.”

Squadron commanders and higher shouldn’t wait for higher headquarters direction to get that thoughtful training started, Robinson said.

“We should all be synchronized and aligned to the six fights and the (SECAF) operational imperatives,” Robinson said. “The information is out there … the white papers are published. There’s lots of research available at the right levels to figure out what you want to train your organization to at the wing, group or squadron perspective. No one should have to tell any squadron commander or senior enlisted leader what to train to specifically. Use your imagination, understand where your force is and go get after it.”

Source: United States Air Force

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AFNS) —  

Source: United States Air Force

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) —  

Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander, released “PACAF Strategy 2030: Evolving Airpower” during a briefing at the Air and Space Force Association’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference, Sept. 11.

In lockstep with the 2022 National Defense Strategy, PACAF Strategy 2030 provides Airmen with strategic priorities to defend the homeland, deter aggression, and reinforce allies and partners in the complex and ever-changing Indo-Pacific strategic environment.

PACAF Strategy 2030 ensures the command’s 46,000 Airmen and civilians continue to evolve competence in areas such as agile combat employment, maritime strike, multi-capable Airmen, resilient basing, information and intelligence sharing, and contested logistics.

“PACAF is evolving airpower and setting the pace to preserve peace and if necessary, fight and win,” Wilsbach said. “We understand the challenges inherent to generating airpower in contested environments, recognizing it is fundamentally different than projecting power from safe-haven bases. Therefore, we embrace the acceleration of change, leveraging innovation to benefit the United States and our many allies and partners.”

The document outlines the strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific and expands on America’s strategic competitors and how they attempt to undermine the rule-based international order through coercive actions.

According to the PACAF Strategy 2030, “If deterrence fails, PACAF will be ready to fight. These operational priorities reflect the urgency to accelerate change to meet the challenges of this decisive decade. Informed by our finite resources, PACAF will focus on four priorities: (1) enhance warfighting advantage; (2) advance theater posture; (3) strengthen alliances and partnerships; and (4) shape the information environment.”

Over the course of three days, and with briefings such as “Building the Warfighting Mindset,” “Ready to Compete, Fight, and Win in the Indo-Pacific,” “Cyber Warfare,” “Partnering to Win in the Space Fight,” “Global Threats and Opportunities,” and “Air Dominance”, the theme of the 2023 AS&CC is “Defeating Multipolar Threats: A Strategic Imperative for Airmen and Guardians,” further reinforcing the PACAF Strategy 2030.

“As the United States continues to navigate this decisive decade of uncertainty, PACAF must anticipate and rapidly adapt to new social, economic, and security conditions that impact the role of airpower within the Indo-Pacific,” Wilsbach said. “With the combined strength and experience of our Allies and partners, PACAF’s steadfast resiliency will continue to propel us forward to meet the challenges of the future.”

PACAF will continue to evolve airpower to set the pace over the next decade. View the full PACAF 2030 Strategy, here.

Source: United States Air Force

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —  

Using the acquisition and fielding of the Air Force’s newest bomber as a backdrop, Gen. Duke Z. Richardson, Air Force Materiel Command Commander, emphasized the critical role the organization maintains in outpacing and deterring the People’s Republic of China in a high-profile address, Sept. 11 during the Air Force Association’s 2023 Air, Space and Cyber Conference.

“In the machine of our nation’s defense, we are the powerhouse,” Richardson said. “Outpacing and deterring the People’s Republic of China starts with AFMC. ‘Accelerate Change or Lose’ isn’t just a bumper sticker. It’s our call to action.”

During his address, Richardson highlighted AFMC’s vital role in the fielding and life cycle of every Air Force platform and capability, to include installations as power projection platforms for the service. Using the B-21 Raider as an example, he stressed the command’s reliance on integrated work across its six purpose-built centers and program executive offices, alongside the need for the materiel enterprise to accelerate pace to remain ahead of the PRC and other modern adversaries.

“The Air Force relies on creative AFMC Airmen to deliver capabilities faster by leveraging every available tool,” Richardson said. “We’re focused on enterprise solutions, digital materiel management, and collaboration with our warfighters across every MAJCOM for every weapon system. The B-21 program exemplifies our commitment to delivering integrated capabilities, covering all aspects of the life cycle, from research and development, through acquisition and testing, to long-term sustainment and support.”

The Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office is leading the development of the B-21 Raider, under the direction of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and the Secretary of the Air Force. AFMC is partnering closely with the DAF RCO in the development of the platform and comprises nearly 70% of the Program Executive Office team.

Richardson’s keynote address detailed the specific types of support each of the six AFMC centers provide to the B-21 program office and short videos by subject matter experts from each AFMC organization offered first-hand accounts of the ongoing work.

He spoke about the Air Force Research Laboratory’s role in creating novel technologies for improved aircraft performance, operational efficiency and enhanced mission execution, highlighting the center’s role in B-21 material certification and evaluative testing, environmental assessments, technology maturation and more.

“AFRL’s innovations translate to improved aircraft performance, operational efficiency and enhanced mission success rates,” he said.

Richardson then spoke of the acquisition and fielding role led by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center.

More than 237 AFLCMC personnel currently support the B-21 program in areas ranging from financial management and contracting to digital acquisition, systems engineering, airworthiness certification and production planning. The overall goal is to ensure that the platform is safe, secure, effective, available and sustainable over the long term.

“Our team at LCMC provides warfighting capabilities at the speed of relevance, and the B-21 is no exception,” he said.

Richardson then highlighted the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center’s role in the B-21’s nuclear certification, safe escape distance analysis, hardness assessment, and Nuclear Command, Control and Communications planning. With the platform designed to be a dual-capable penetrating strike stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions, AFNWC expertise is critical to ensuring safety and viability over the long term.

First-hand accounts of an Air Force test pilot and maintainer showcased the Air Force Test Center’s responsibility for B-21 flight test planning and operations and related support in areas such as systems engineering, maintenance, business operations and information technology. Richardson discussed the center’s role in putting the B-21 through a combination of realistic simulations, intensive exercises, and carefully designed evaluations.

“This process goes beyond routine testing and dives deep into understanding the capabilities. The test center stresses our systems to determine failure modes and maintenance challenges in a controlled environment, vice during war,” he said.

As the B-21 moves towards operational capability, Richardson talked about how the Air Force Sustainment Center is working to ensure readiness for depot maintenance and sustainment activity. AFSC teams currently aligned to the B-21 program provide organic software development and testing, composite and propulsion support, depot activation, facility planning and more, ensuring the organic capability to maintain the platform’s lethality into the future.

“Transitioning from developing, acquiring, and testing to heavy maintenance, our sustainers showcase real-world, wrench turning stories,” he said.

With the B-21 slated to operate out of Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, with Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and Dyess AFB, Texas, also identified as preferred operating locations the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center is planning for mission bed-down through installation assessments and planning, including any required infrastructure construction or upgrades.

“IMSC’s approach to installation management optimizes the Air Force’s ability to rapidly deploy and sustain operations,” he said.

Richardson concluded his keynote address by reemphasizing the critical role of AFMC in ensuring the Air Force is postured to maintain a strategic advantage over the PRC and all other adversaries through the delivery of integrated capabilities across the mission set. The ability of the Air Force to fly, fight and win in all domains depends on AFMC.

“As with the B-21, if our Airmen fly it, shoot it, fuel it, move it, drive it, wear it, communicate with it, or work in it…AFMC powers every weapon system, every installation, for every command and every Airman,” he said. “Together, our power is unmatched. Our work in the B-21 program embodies Air Force Materiel Command’s core principle: Every individual capability, every piece of technology we develop, must maximize readiness and lethality, not just on its own, but as part of an integrated whole.”

To view the full recording of Richardson’s keynote address, visit the 2023 Air, Space & Cyber Conference website.

Source: United States Air Force

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was joined by Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in marking the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attack at a ceremony honoring the 184 lives lost at the Pentagon.

“I know that being here today is hard,” Austin said as he extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. “I know that it aches to remember this milestone year after year. And I know that nothing can make it right. 

“And, as the years go by, it may feel that the world is moving on or even forgetting what happened here on Sept. 11, 2001,” he said. “But please know this: The men and women of the Department of Defense will always remember.” 

Austin and Milley highlighted the outpouring of service and selflessness by the defense community and ordinary Americans in the immediate aftermath of the attacks and the years to follow.  

The response by Americans at the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and aboard United Airlines flight 93, which crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, offered proof that “terror would never destroy us,” Milley said. 

“Those terrorists hated America,” he said. “They hated our Constitution and the values that bind us together as a nation. 

“Those terrorists wanted to destroy our country,” he said. “But, on that day and every day since, the United States has demonstrated that we would never bow to fear and hatred.” 

Austin noted that in the month following the attack on the Pentagon, more than 2,500 people volunteered to provide assistance to the grieving families of those who died in the attack.  

Years after the attack, that same courage and compassion continued to shine, he said. 

That call to service has echoed throughout the decades, propelling thousands of young people to answer the call to serve in the military, Milley said.  

“Sept. 11 reminds us that the American spirit still shines in times of testing,” Austin said. “After the attacks, amid the horror and the grief, many Americans felt a deeper sense of duty to their communities and to their country. And all around the country with hearts breaking for the slain and the suffering, Americans looked within themselves and felt called to give back.” 

Austin vowed to maintain that legacy of service and honor those who lost their lives in the attacks.  

“It is our duty to live up to the goodness that they embodied,” he said. “And it is our duty to defend the democracy that they loved so much. So, we will always seek to meet that challenge.” 

“We will always work to keep America safe, and we will always, always remember,” he said. 

Source: United States Air Force

BATTLE MOUNTAIN, Nev. (AFNS) —  

The Common Air Route Surveillance Radar, or CARSR, at Battle Mountain, suffered a catastrophic failure on Dec. 27, 2022, when snow accumulation caused the protective dome to collapse onto the antennas within. This radar supports several agencies and feeds into the overall National Airspace System, or NAS, picture used by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, executing a part of their vital mission.

When the outage occurred, a team of about 100 people was formed to develop a strategy for reconstruction and reintegration into the NAS. Experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, NAS Defense Programs, the Department of Defense Joint Program Office, the Salt Lake City Air Traffic Control Center, AJW-L900 FAA Logistics Site Services, and the 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron at Hill Air Force Base, Utah comprised this team.

This 100-person team had to accomplish several significant milestones to restore radar services including clearing and restoring road access to the top of a 10,000-foot mountaintop; removing the destroyed equipment; locating and refurbishing a replacement antenna; and transporting and constructing a 60′ wide x 45′ tall replacement radome weighing 5.5 tons to the top of a 10,000-foot mountaintop.

All this activity culminated in the radar being brought online for testing and optimization prior to its return to the NAS. The 84th RADES’s CARSR experts were called in to complete the final stage of the restoration by optimizing and evaluating the radar prior to its return to service.

“Darrell McFarland, 84th RADES Radar Evaluation flight chief, oversaw the team’s efforts, ensuring that the RADES team members were staged and prepared to optimize the moment the radar was mounted,” said Lt. Col. Ryan Smith, 84th RADES director of operations.

John Birchfield led the 84th RADES optimization team, which included Staff Sgt. Quinton Montgomery, Staff Sgt. Joshua Palileo and Craig Lewis. A comprehensive radar optimization typically requires three weeks of onsite labor. The RADES team worked overtime and accomplished the task in two weeks to return Battle Mountain’s CARSR to full service.

“We wanted to get the data back into the National Airspace System as quickly as possible due to the air traffic routing commercial traffic differently than normal, air safety for the traveling public and air defense for NORAD since this radar covers all of northern Nevada and southern Idaho,” McFarland said.

The FAA recognized the hard work of everyone involved through a coining and recognition ceremony at the Air Route Traffic Control Center, or ARTCC, in Salt Lake City on July 23.

“This was a monumental collaborative effort involving multiple federal entities,” said Lt. Col. Douglas Boytim, 84th RADES commander. “On July 19, the Battle Mountain CARSR was restored to the NAS, thereby closing a critical gap in radar coverage for both the FAA and NORAD.”

Source: United States Air Force

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) —  

Soldiers, Airmen and Guardians from multiple units participated in Exercise Mountain Medic 23, designed to simulate the evacuation and treatment of injured personnel in a joint-service austere battle zone throughout Colorado recently.

The two-week-long exercise began with five days of classroom training, followed by hands-on training in an instructor-led environment and in-person familiarization with the C-130 Hercules aircraft and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. The following week, they engaged in scenario-based air and ground medical evacuation exercises in different locations.

“This was a multi-domain, multi-component, joint environment exercise designed to test the medevac and aeromedical response to a large-scale combat operation,” said Lt. Col. Jennifer Housholder, Army Reserve Aviation Command UH-60 pilot. “We’re working together between the services to take the wounded and get them where they need to be. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

Total force members shared knowledge with each other gleaned from their military experiences and expertise during the exercise. Reservists with civilian jobs in the medical field also shared what they’ve learned through their time treating patients outside of a military environment. Participants also learned about how each service operates differently and collaborated on what the best practices were for different treatments and procedures.

“There are a whole bunch of resources, other units, other entities that are looking to do the same thing we are,” said Col. James Bershinsky, 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron commander. “We just have to reach across the line, build a realistic training platform and innovate and adapt as we would be expected to do the next fight. We need to do a better job of resourcing and training our joint force to get the most modern techniques.”

Exercise participants formed two joint-service groups over the first week as they reviewed the basics of tactical combat casualty care, practiced how to draw and transfer blood to each other, applied tourniquets and learned about K-9 care. They also learned the procedures for carrying and transporting injured and wounded from the point of injury, whether in the field or during a mass casualty scenario.

“Seeing everybody engage from every branch, it doesn’t matter what rank you are,” said 1st Sgt. Jens Pietrzyk, 7-158th Aviation Regiment critical care flight paramedic. “Everybody’s in there sharing knowledge, and everyone’s putting hands on the training, really wanting to learn. It’s always amazing to see that whenever everybody comes into a room, we’re here to learn.”

Guardians also taught the group what Space Force assets are capable of and what they bring to the fight in a joint combat environment, ensuring that air and ground teams could communicate effectively by providing GPS capabilities.

“The space domain cuts through all other domains, whether it’s land, air, sea or cyber,” Housholder said. “Everything we do is predicated on the capabilities that the Space Force affords us. We have to train within that integrated context because that’s how we’re going to fight in the future.”

After the instructor-led training concluded, each team reported to their respective duty locations the following Monday to begin the scenario-based training.

United States Air Force Academy cadets, Airmen, Soldiers and Guardians were selected in advance to act as patients. Fabricated wounds were created using moulage intended to recreate the likeness of real injuries. Some simulated patients were outfitted with open wounds on their limbs and neck, while others had facial trauma or disfigured appendages.

The live role-players were given a character to act out, complete with fake names and sources for each of their injuries. Some role-players were directed to act out specific behaviors, including psychological injuries, asphyxiation, blindness and deafness.

“It’s going to be a crescendo,” Bershinsky said. “We’re going to start with smaller levels of patients getting through, and as that system gets busier, we’re going to find breakpoints and weaknesses, overload that system and pile onto those weaknesses. Over the course of the week, that tempo will rapidly build to a point where we purposely break aspects to find better ways to do it.”

An Air Force medical team arrived Monday at a predetermined location and stayed overnight at the end of each day. Their task was to set up an expeditionary medical treatment facility with an en route patient staging squadron mission. On an empty patch of dirt, the Airmen worked together, putting up tents staged with medical and communications equipment. Each tent served a specific purpose depending on the severity of the patient’s condition and the needs of the medics manning it.

At the same time, a surgical team set up a working area at the original classroom training location equipped with tools to receive patients in need of a higher degree of care. Nearby, a fleet of UH-60s was prepared to be crewed in response to patients in need of aerial extraction.

Army aviators touched down at the Air Force expeditionary medical treatment facility with the first round of patients on board picked up from a location on Fort Carson. While in route, the crew on board treated, assessed and documented the extent of the patient’s injuries.

“When there’s an injury on the field that can’t be transported by ground or needs faster care, usually they need a trauma surgeon within an hour,” said Spc. Adam Diefendorf, 5-159th General Support Aviation Battalion UH-60 flight paramedic. “We have an idea of what we go into, but even when we get on the ground, we have to launch quickly per medevac doctrine. We get a report from the medic that’s on the ground and then we load them up quickly because there’s potential enemies in the area and we need to get them where they need to go within that hour of injuries sustained.”

The flight medic opens the side door and motions for ground medics to approach the aircraft as a team of four. Airmen positioned themselves on each corner of the litter and carried the patient off the helicopter toward one of the tents for further treatment.

During the second day, a 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron team set up a simulated treatment facility in a hangar at the Pueblo Memorial Airport. There, they practiced offloading patients from UH-60s, securing them into the back of a medevac truck and driving them to the hangar for further treatment and evaluation.

They also trained how to receive patients from a UH-60 and transfer them into the cargo bay of a C-130H outfitted for aeromedical evacuation and personnel transport. When a helicopter landed with a patient on board, their engines remained operational. A team approached the helicopter with the blades spinning overhead, offloaded the patient and carried them to the nearby C-130 with its engines also running. They were guided aboard by 34th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Airmen in the cargo bay.

“I’ve never loaded patients onto a Blackhawk before,” said Senior Airman Taylore Araki, 944th Aeromedical Staging Squadron aerospace medical technician. “Just seeing how it’s done, then actually getting to do it and realizing that there was more to it than I thought was really good practice. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as difficult as I assumed it was going to be.”

Patient transfer training occurred again at Fort Carson when a C-130 landed on a dirt runway close to the expeditionary treatment facility. Participants used an ambulance bus provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to load patients for transport, drive them to the C-130 on the dirt runway and reverse the vehicle close to the cargo ramp of the aircraft. 34 AES Airmen directed the transport of the patients into the bay from the rear of the bus.

During flight, the patients were treated and monitored by the medics on board. A Critical Care Air Transport Team augments the standard aeromedical evacuation crew aided by Army UH-60 flight medics training alongside them. These specialized teams care for critically ill or injured patients during flight while they’re transported to a higher level of care.

“I realized how much the CCAT teams are capable of because they have so many people on the team providing care versus myself in the back of a Blackhawk,” said Diefendorf. “When we’re turning and banking, I’m getting thrown around and there’s only so much I can do in 15-20 minutes. Whereas the CCAT teams have more people with more hands-on, they’re able to do so much more in the same amount of time.”

On the final day of the exercise, participants were faced with a mass casualty training scenario.

Medics and 10th Special Forces Group Green Berets located role-players in dark rooms, assessed their injuries and evacuated them to the expeditionary treatment facility for further care. Panicked role-players were comforted, and combative ones subdued while the team cleared obstacles keeping them from providing care to the injured.

“It was very chaotic,” said Araki. “I was stressed but I just remembered these are our patients and they need to get treated immediately. These are people’s loved ones. I think that was the pusher to get through it. These people need help, and they want to go home and see their families.”

They brought in litters to transport those who couldn’t walk. If a litter wasn’t available, patients were carried or shoulder-dragged to safety. When they finished securing one patient, they returned to the building to find another, working amidst the screaming in the darkness until all injured were removed and en route to the expeditionary treatment facility.

“For my injuries, I had facial trauma,” said Senior Airman Zadok Dean III, 34 AES aeromedical evacuation technician, who role-played during the mass casualty exercise. “The way I played it, I was crawling around, asking for help. It was really cool to see the mass casualty being the patient, getting dragged out by one of the medics and then going to camp and getting taken care of. Being a part of that process really put into perspective how a patient feels. We have some really good people who know what they’re talking about taking care of us.”

As patients from the mass casualty were evacuated by C-130 or UH-60, the exercise came to a close shortly afterward.

Looking forward, Airmen and Soldiers from junior enlisted up to leadership expressed the need to expand the scope of the scenarios, involve more missions, invite other organizations to participate and accomplish the training on a more frequent basis.

“It’s not just medevac and aeromedical,” said Housholder. “Anything we do will cross into multi-domain, multi-component and joint environments. Even as an air assault Blackhawk pilot, I’m not doing it outside of a joint environment, not in today’s world. We need more integration. We have to get after training and exercising in an integrated way because that’s the only way we fight.”

Housholder introduced the idea of integrating the Navy into future exercises, suggesting training with the capabilities of their rotary and fixed-wing aircraft included in their air ambulance detachments. She also cited hoist operations the Coast Guard performs over water as another possible component of training.

“I thought this was the best training I have genuinely ever received in my aeromedical evacuation career,” said Dean. “Mountain Medic should 1,000% not be a once-a-year thing. We don’t get to work with other branches, and we don’t get to see how other people operate in an environment like this. Getting this type of training builds so much confidence in myself as a medic and I know several of my other coworkers feel the exact same way.”

The Air Force ground medical team gathered for an after-action discussion at the end of the exercise, highlighting successes and pitfalls throughout the field portion of the training. Bershinky addressed the multi-squadron team directly.