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Ulchi Freedom Guardian: Yokota readiness lends a hand

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Cody H. Ramirez
  • 7th Air Force Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea --  Military exercises are performed throughout the year at installations around the world. They ensure military personnel are prepared and ready to respond to a variety of world issues that may arise, whether it is humanitarian aid and relief, combat actions or chemical warfare.

Master Sgt. Joe Brockman, 374 Civil Engineer Squadron readiness and emergency management superintendent, plays a vital role in the responsive actions taken during exercises at Yokota Air Base, Japan.

During Ulchi Freedom Guardian at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Aug. 18 - 29, he had the opportunity to put on a different hat as an exercise planner, controlling all chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear defense cells at contingency operating bases across the peninsula.

"My decisions during the planning phases dictated what the exercise reconnaissance teams do and how the operations centers are going to respond to CBRN attacks," Brockman said. "We tailor and refine the details on enemy attacks for each base. We say how enemy special operations infiltrate the base, where they hit and what damage happened during the attack."

Brockman said his role, along with the rest of the planning cell, is to interrupt air operations as realistic as possible. This allows an accurate assessment and test of how the service members respond to the crisis at hand.

"Normally, I don't sit and work with other organizations on base because I am typically responding to CBRN specific scenarios, but here I work hand-in-hand with other organizations," Brockman said. "Hearing input from the other units allows me to think of more effective training scenarios to train our guys and I learn what other functions areas find important."

Brockman said coordinating with supporting units like supply, security forces and maintenance allows him to interrupt more than one section of the base at the same time. He said the more units affected, the more experience service members gain with possible real-world scenarios.

At Yokota, Brockman said he is typically trying to find a solution or mitigate problems, but at UFG, he asks himself, "what would make my job harder?"

Rather than solving problems, he is creating them.

"I have never experienced anything like this," Brockman added. "This is the most modern, complex computer system-based exercise on the planet."

In addition to the his change in operational scope, Brockman said working alongside the ROK Air Force counterparts also adds a unique challenge and reward to the exercise. He said they have a wide range of responsibilities.
"Where my job mainly focuses around CBRN, my ROKAF counterpart may have CBRN, supply and another specialization," Brockman said. "We get to brainstorm on how we each do things and learn from each other."

In addition to Brockman, the 374 CES readiness and emergency management flight also sent their NCO in charge of plans and operations: Staff Sgt. Timothy Lyons.

Lyons, rather than playing a role in the planning portion of UFG, is an active player in responding to the exercise scenarios. Lyons said he is spends his time during the exercise coordinating with others about CBRN attacks, informing other bases of incoming or potential strikes.

"Compared to Yokota, I am sitting on a higher end of the information pyramid," Lyons said. "We usually do similar exercises at base level, but here it is supporting an entire country."

Lyons said the exercise allows him to see how the information trickles down and give him experience in a position he normally would get to see.

"We are basically the intermediate between higher headquarters and the bases throughout the [Republic of Korea] peninsula," Lyons added.

Brockman said UFG is significant because it teaches service members how to use emergency systems and gain experience as to how they actually play out during actual world events. He said it also educates them on aspects of chemical attacks and what would be expected of them during a worse-case scenario.

"This exercise really helps leadership and allows them see visually see the big picture on how operations can be interrupted and how to best respond," Brockman added.

Lyons, who had his first experience in an exercise as large as UFG, said it gave him "a bigger view on how the Air Force works with other military branches and allies during operations like this."

Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a command post exercise, the largest of its kind, that ensures the U.S.-ROK alliance is ready and prepared to defend the peninsula against possible hostile attacks. The exercise is annual and regularly planned and is not related to any current world events.