SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands -- The 11th Air Task Force became the first U.S. Air Force air task force to deploy in July, starting with its participation in exercise Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC), the Air Force’s largest contingency response exercise in the Pacific, in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
Based in Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Arizona, the 11 ATF is one of six task forces activated across the Air Force in 2024. It is composed of about 350 Airmen from a handful of units, including Davis-Monthan; Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.
The 11 ATF has spent the last nine months completing training requirements in an expedited Air Force Force Generation cycle, which is built to enable Airmen to train and exercise together before being operationally employed together as part of a team. This is a change from how the Air Force traditionally has filled deployment billets, when Airmen were pulled from bases across the force and often didn’t meet until they arrived downrange.
According to U.S. Air Force Col. Brett Cassidy, 11 ATF commander, the ability to train together during deliberate field training exercises and unit events was a critical factor in the team’s mission readiness when they arrived on the field.
“It was a unique opportunity for the team to come together over the entire year to get to know one another, dive into the challenges on the ground here immediately and tackle them with success, because we had that background built up over the previous year of training,” Cassidy said. “We were ready and capable as soon as we arrived to get right into the mission.”
REFORPAC served as the 11 ATF’s final 400-level certifying exercise, allowing the 11 ATF to utilize all its training as a team before continuing the rest of its six-month deployment in the Pacific. Conducted through the month of July, REFORPAC was part of the first-in-a-generation Department-Level Exercise series, a new way the Air Force is exercising to conduct large operations in contested, dynamic environments. The aim was to improve interoperability and multilateral cooperation, leading to a stronger, more capable, deterrent force.
The DLE series encompasses all branches of the Department of Defense, along with allies and partners, employing approximately 400 U.S. and coalition aircraft and more than 12,000 members at more than 50 locations spanning 3,000 miles.
During the exercise, the 11 ATF, alongside the 11th Combat Air Base Squadron, supported the 563rd Rescue Group’s efforts as a mission generation force element. Their mission was twofold:provide Command and Control and base operating support-integration. This included logistics, operational setup, special staff functions such as the chaplain and medical support, security forces, airfield management and more.
All these teams came together to prepare for and react to exercise mission injects that ranged from a simulated downed F-22 pilot to a simulated Small Unmanned Aircraft System attack that knocked out part of the task force’s communication system, forcing members to implement contingency plans to ensure critical actions were still taken and relayed to the broader team.
Building from the ground up with the aid of local contractors and partners, the 11 ATF established internet communications within hours and supported aerial missions within days. Airmen also integrated with local authorities to utilize a civilian runway, enabling the 563rd RQG’s HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopters and HC-130J Combat King II aircraft to land and take off whenever necessary.
Another challenge was the sheer distance involved in some of the exercise injects, especially when the 563rd RQG was tasked with supporting efforts off the island.
“When we look at the long distances in the Pacific, the huge range that’s require for logistics and sustainment, it was a unique opportunity for our Airmen to work really dynamic problems in more isolated, austere locations over these long distances,” Cassidy said. “They had to figure out how to make the mission work in this large integrated whole of hundreds of aircraft and thousands of Airmen working through this contingency scenario.”
Besides the exercise injects and other training, 11 CABS Airmen also dealt with real-world challenges that included a tropical storm, a tsunami warning and a responding to humanitarian scenarios.
Ultimately, REFORPAC refined the 11 ATF’s ability to execute dispersed operations and generate airpower under challenging conditions, while giving its Airmen the chance to practice the Mission Ready Airman concept.
“The Mission Ready Airman concept is about trust,” said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Sharreen Taylor, 11 ATF command chief. “It goes back to that teaming concept, where the Airmen have gotten to work together, learn how to trust each other and then really jump in. Airmen work together, building trust and taking initiative. They don't wait to be told what to do; they proactively step up and fill in where they're needed.”
Taylor pointed to several instances of Airmen stepping out of their primary job duties throughout REFORPAC, from finance Airmen helping establish a perimeter fence to airfield management Airmen helping with logistics. This also occurred as the 11 ATF integrated with squadrons from the 563rd RQG as Airmen from both groups worked together to solve problems and achieve the mission.
“Our Airmen nailed it during REFORPAC,” Taylor said. “We were able to come into an environment that we’ve never been in, and set up a camp in minimal time, along with a complete communication structure. Every task our Airmen were given, they succeeded; they were ready to overcome any contingency. They truly embraced the Mission Ready Airmen concept, and they truly embraced the things that the Air Force asked us to do.”
The 11th ATF’s role in REFORPAC highlighted its ability to function as a deployable, self-sustaining force, showcasing its adaptability and capability to operate similarly to a traditional Air Force wing. REFORPAC also gave the Department of the Air Force the chance to see air task forces in action, especially as the 11 ATF practiced Agile Combat Employment in a dispersed, austere environment. ATFs, which replace the Expeditionary Air Base model, are the next evolution of the Air Force’s progress toward the Deployable Combat Wing and a significant milestone in the Air Force’s journey toward modernization and readiness to ensure and maintain a competitive advantage over the pacing challenge.
“Air task forces like the 11 ATF are critical because they help us glean the lessons and observations necessary to continue improving our force generation concepts, ultimately helping make sure that the future combat wings are designed and ready to get after missions that help our joint forces and joint commanders who need them in the theater,” Cassidy said. “We’re not going to get it perfectly right as we work through these iterations, but we’re moving forward, and we’re doing it in a way that’s going to pull lessons for the Air Force at a critical time when we need to make sure that the Air Force is continuing to shift forward and be prepared for the next major contingency.”