MG19 to Green Flag: 19th AMXS maintains readiness Published Oct. 16, 2019 By Airman 1st Class Jayden Ford 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- Members from the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron participated in Mobility Guardian 2019, Air Mobility Command's largest biennial full-spectrum readiness exercise, in order to help Airmen become joint-minded mobility leaders. Maintaining readiness is essential to upholding Rapid Global Mobility. Realistic training environments ensure Airmen are more mission-ready, capable and prepared. As the exercise approached, the team experienced the first test of their readiness by seeing how efficiently they could collect everything they would need for Mobility Guardian 2019. “The biggest opportunity we had to test our readiness was simulating the entire deployment process,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Michael Comiskey, 19th Maintenance Group executive officer. “We got to practice packing all of our assets up and shipping those out to make sure we could operate away from our home station.” Mobility Guardian 2019 saw many units come from all over AMC and across the world in order to train together, which enhances the vital partnerships the Air Force relies on to accomplish the mission. “One thing I thought was going to be difficult for us was getting used to working with the other bases,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Chhaya Ung, 19th AMXS section chief. “It’s not always cohesive between different units, but all these Airmen came together on day one. Everyone from senior NCOs to Airmen understood that we were there to work as a team.” The 19th AMXS assisted in maintaining seven C-130J’s, which flew a total of 113 of the 388 missions, as well as provided support to the Air Force’s international partners. “We were flying the whole fleet on a daily basis,” Ung said. “We proved that we can take our people and put them anywhere and they will be able to do whatever is required to get the mission done.” Exercises are put in place to test the readiness of Airmen to ensure they keep their competitive edge by providing Rapid Global Mobility whenever they are called upon. “We could be asked to go anywhere at any time in order to execute the mission,” Comiskey said. “That's why it’s a big deal to practice because we are the ones who have to go out there and make sure the planes are ready to deliver at a moment’s notice.” Airmen will continue to hone their abilities to perform agile Combat Airlift in a contingency environment during Green Flag Little Rock 20-01, a joint live-training tactical exercise with a focus on combat airlift and airdrop operations, interoperability with our Joint and International partners, as well as survival, evasion, resistance & escape, just as they did during Mobility Guardian 2019. “We are always working hard to prepare for the next big thing,” Ung said. “Green Flag is what helped us prepare for Mobility Guardian so we are definitely ready to tackle Green Flag again.” Maintainers are responsible for ensuring that the planes are always capable of executing their mission. The 19th AMXS’s readiness is instrumental to maintaining Team Little Rock’s ability to keep planes in the air and compete on a global scale. “It is guaranteed that every C-130’s mission will start and end with maintenance,” Comiskey said. “We strive to maintain our readiness because every time a plane goes around the world, there is more than likely a maintainer that's going to be with that plane to fix it and make sure it is capable of carrying out the mission.”