Elmendorf completes Polar Force 09-02

  • Published
  • By Airman Basic Jack Sanders
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  The 3rd Wing finished its 30-hour exercise Jan. 23. The exercise gave servicemembers a chance to apply their training to real-world scenarios, and aided in the wing's preparation for the upcoming operational readiness inspection. 

The ORI will test the wing's ability to move from a peacetime operational state to a wartime operational state. ORIs also evaluate combat readiness by assessing the wing's ability to perform wartime related tasks. 

Polar Force 09-02, held Jan. 21-23, focused primarily on these ORI fundamentals. "The entire 3rd Wing, with very few exceptions, participated in the exercise," said Capt. Trey Coleman, the chief of Wing Inspections. "Some units played a diminished role because of real world obligations." 

Participants experienced nine attacks during two and half days. These attacks were both conventional and chemical in nature. The attacks were scheduled during the daily exercise window of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and a script was sent out base wide prior to the exercise. 

"We wanted to give out the answers to the test," said Captain Coleman. He stressed that this flexibility added the ability for more practice. 

He explained that scenarios could be stopped, evaluated and restarted so that everyone had a clear understanding of what they needed to do. 

This flexibility was possible because the Exercise Evaluation Team was participating in the exercise as well. 

Captain Coleman emphasized that the EET was "geared up like everyone else." 

With their participation, the exercise could be evaluated during the procedures and this helped the exercise to run more smoothly and efficiently. 

With the knowledge gained from this exercise, members of the wing are better prepared to demonstrate their capabilities at home or deployed.