Cargo, personnel process the line during Phase I ORE

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt Matt Schroff
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  It goes without saying that a Phase I Operational Readiness Exercise involves a lot of sweat, hard work and long hours. Airmen assigned to the cargo movement and personnel deployment functions here are familiar with all three, working around the clock to ensure pallets of cargo and chalks of personnel are processed in support of OREs.

Cargo processing involves much more than the just the old adage of "beans, bullets and bandages;" these Airmen pack up a variety of equipment on dozens of pallets containing hundreds of short tons of cargo. On the personnel side, Airmen and units prepare items for deployment such as mobility bags, hazardous materials, classified items, weapons and ammunition based on deployment taskings, which are not always part of a standard air and space expeditionary force deployment.

To assist this monumental undertaking, some Airmen are pulled from their normal duties and temporarily assigned as augmentees. Whether assisting security forces, providing security for the Personnel Deployment Function or building palletized cargo, these Airmen play a critical role in the processing of goods and personnel essential to the ORE.