BUCKEYE II: Lethal, Ready Force

Airmen from active duty, reserve and guard installations across the globe are what make the U.S. Air Force such a lethal, ready force in the Great Power Competition. As the true assets of the Air Force, Airmen must strive to remain combat-ready while still innovating for the future. In doing so, members of the 910th Airlift Wing traveled to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, Nov. 13-16, 2024, to conduct operational combat training in the second iteration of the three-phase ‘Buckeye’ training exercises. 

“Exercises are essential in sustaining a lethal, ready force capable of mobilizing and deploying effectively,” said Senior Master Sgt. Shelby Perkins, 910th AW Inspector General superintendent. “In a controlled environment (Buckeye II), Airmen can get a feel for a heightened threat environment as well as identify any risk areas.”

Senior leadership at the 910th AW structured the Buckeye exercises to simulate wartime environments while using a crawl, walk, run approach to specific Task Qualification Training. By doing so, 910th members were able to check off their TQTs while clinching valuable hands-on training that could not be conducted at home station. 

“Security forces, force support and civil engineer squadrons are unable to assess many of their TQTs at home station,” said Perkins. “Dobbins ARB has many of the facilities, space and equipment to allow those squadrons to perform their specific TQTs.”

TQT is training conducted while Airmen wear Mission Oriented Protective Posture 4 Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear gear. Airmen train with MOPP 4 CBRN gear on to ensure their ability to perform wartime mission-essential tasks during an attack. 

“The overall purpose of this exercise was to assess and validate the operational readiness of the 910th AW,” said Perkins. “During Buckeye II, we evaluated how effectively the wing can generate, sustain and deploy in a contested environment.”

Staff Sgt. Jasmine Handy, an operations management specialist with the 910th Civil Engineer Squadron, said anticipation was brewing leading up to the exercise.

“As for me, I was initially nervous going into Buckeye II because working in the unit control center can get overwhelming with so much happening all at once,” said Handy. “Once into the exercise you realized how much we all depend on one another and that it truly takes the whole team to get the job done.”

According to Air Force doctrine, Agile Combat Employment increases survivability while generating combat power. It’s a proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver within threat timelines. But without proper training, attitude and teamwork, ACE is implausible.

“Buckeye II demonstrated what the civil engineers team looks like in action as a ‘one-unit team’ despite being made up of many different shops,” said Handy. “Throughout the exercise, it became clear how each shop relies on one another to accomplish their specific task and the overall mission.”

While preparing for Buckeye III, senior leaders at the 910th AW will thoroughly evaluate the results of the previous exercises to assess what the final iteration will look like. No matter what training injects leaders decide to implement, the 910th’s Airmen are expected to rise to the occasion as a lethal, ready force prepared to take on our nation’s adversaries.