934th Airmen participate in Exercise Patriot Express Published Sept. 4, 2013 By Paul Zadach 934th Airlift Wing Public Affairs MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL AIR RESERVE STATION -- Six 96th Airlift Squadron Airmen and Two 934th Maintenance Crew Chiefs flew to the high altitudes of Colorado to take part in Exercise Patriot Express August 22-23. The annual Air Force Reserve Command-sponsored air mobility exercise is a multi-service event where AFRC Airlift Control Flight Airmen provide training and support to airlift operations under bare-base conditions. ALCF Airmen provide experienced airlift personnel to manage, coordinate and control air mobility assets. They provide a capability for operating at locations where there is limited support and are self-sufficient and are able to sustain operations under bare-base conditions. The ALCF is also responsible for training Air Force and sister service units on how to move by air. They instruct over 400 units in preparing and loading their mobility equipment for air shipment. For this exercise, ALCF Airmen set up a 'bare-bones' base the day before, establishing communications, ensuring two generators worked and starting up a Small Package Initial Communication Element for secure and unsecure networking. "We flew multiple legs between Pueblo and Colorado Springs and did multiple engine running offloads/onloads to provide training for the Navy under the supervision of the ALCF personnel, said Capt. Ethan Bryant, 96th Airlift Squadron C-130 pilot. "This is the second time the 96th has participated in Patriot Express. We participated last fall in the exercise that took place at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Air Station, Hawaii. Because of our performance then, we were requested to participate in this one as well." Working with sister services in joint exercises is not new to the members of the 96th Airlift Squadron who do it multiple times a year. "This was a good opportunity for us to use our aircraft to enable some great training for our Navy partners in a high-priority AFRC joint operation," said Bryant. It also gave our crews valuable practice loading vehicles and solving the real-world problems that arose. The low-level flying in the high-altitude environment of Colorado was also good for our proficiency. As usual, the expert support from our teammates in maintenance allowed us to fly every flight we were scheduled for on time and with full mission capability." Reserve ALCF provides 45 percent of the Air Force capability to establish an air mobility command at a base where one never existed or expand the capabilities of an airfield to handle airlift. They have participated in every major real-world deployment involving Air Force strategic airlift forces in the past decade. They are the front line of command and control, carrying out the commander's orders and back channeling data to keep the mission flowing. The next ALCF exercise is planned for early 2014.