Officials at JB McGuire, N.J., on June 11 inactivated the 816th Contingency Response Group. This unit was a component of McGuire’s 621st Contingency Response Wing. Like other CRGs, it was responsible for tasks such as opening expeditionary air bases. The move was part of a restructure that consolidates the wing’s contingency response capability in its two remaining CRGs–the 817th CRG and 818th CRG. The restructure also transfers some of this mission to the New Jersey Air National Guard’s 108th Air Refueling Wing at McGuire, thereby creating an Air Guard contingency response group. “In its short but distinguished history, the 816th CRG performed the mission of units many times its size, under difficult conditions, in remote locations, and often with little to no notice,” said Lt. Col. Vikki Ellison, 816 Global Mobility Squadron commander. (JB McGuire report by TSgt. Parker Gyokeres)
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…