Air Mobility Command sent its 615th Contingency Response Element from Travis AFB, Calif., to Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan to provide direct support for the US marines flowing into the area as part of the ongoing troop surge. “Our job was to boost the velocity and throughput of cargo and personnel into this location,” said Maj. Sang Kim, 615th CRE commander. With just two days’ notice, the 49-member team deployed in February, according to the March 31 AMC report, and has since increased airlift flow through the camp by 30 percent. The CRE’s civil engineers also put down an aluminum helicopter landing pad to help reduce dust and debris during aeromedical evacuations. And, the CRE’s additional security forces and intelligence officers helped address and identify potential threats. (AMC report by Roger Drinnon)
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
