Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\tUS Air Force tests \u2018base in a box\u2019 in Poland to prep for future wars<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t The U.S. Air Force is getting more expeditionary thanks to a new kit that will enable the service to rapidly move to a partner nation\u2019s airfield, set up a squadron and begin flying combat missions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n
And the equipment, with their training, they are able to set this up like that. And you talk about Harvest Eagle and Harvest Falcon \u2014 those assets were there when I first joined the Air Force. Just the generators … sitting outside this door [are] 50 percent more fuel-efficient, double the capability. So in the past the one generator could support two tents and one fuel load would last eight hours. This one new generator supports four tents and then lasts 12 hours. So rather than do three fuel deliveries a day, you do two, and you reduce your footprint. That\u2019s just one example. You [can] replicate this across the board with the lighting systems, the shower\/shave unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we deploy forward, we have very generous hosts, but in a crisis they are going to need their capabilities for their priorities and their mission sets, and we\u2019re going to fight jointly and operate jointly. But rather than add a burden by, \u201cHey, can you provide us power, can you provide us lodging?\u201d \u2014 if we can bring that organic capability with us, we are both more capable and there is more synergy as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What are the major lessons learned from this exercise?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I first got here three years ago in USAFE \u2014 this is my second tour in this theater \u2014 I really admired watching how the Army\u2019s first rotation of their armored BCT [brigade combat team] came in and the lessons learned they had there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s all about process. What do you put on the first truck? What is in which container and having that in-transit visibility so that you know that particular tent or that particular comm equipment is on that aircraft or that rail car, because it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It all comes down to the details.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right. Because if you open up one container, for example, but the instructions [aren\u2019t in there], we just had that here. The instructions were with one of the tents, but if you don\u2019t open that up first, some of our younger troops may not have seen or experienced [putting] it [together].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, we also have electronic ways of getting those technical orders. But say we\u2019re in a more austere environment where we couldn\u2019t hook up to Wi-Fi or the internet and we couldn\u2019t get those technical orders electronically, then that might be more of a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the things we\u2019re going to bring back to our team is, \u201cHey, put the technical order on each container.\u201d Just as a stopgap. Just in case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some other lessons learned \u2014 those generators. I want more of those [new] generators versus the [less capable] 805s next to it, because it cuts down on the fuel, cuts down on the servicing, cuts down on how many generators we need. And thus, less trucks you need to transport them or less aircraft. That would be a good thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 60 airmen from 14 different active, Reserve and Air National Guard units set up this tent city at Poland\u2019s 31st Air Base during a July exercise meant to test a smaller, prototype version of the U.S. Air Force’s deployable air base system, or DABS, construct. This camp is about one-fifth the scale of an actual DABS, exercise organizers say. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>The first-ever DABS proof of concept officially kicked off July 16, when vehicles and supplies started arriving at Poland’s 31st Air Base. This photo shows 12 tents used for living quarters, left, with the headquarters of the 1st Combat Communications Squadron, which provided classified and unclassified radio and internet, right. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>The dining facility, on left, with the camp’s kitchen on right. During the DABS exercise, U.S. Air Force personnel ate breakfast and dinner with Polish forces, while airmen from the 200th RED HORSE Squadron DET 1, Ohio Air National Guard, cooked daily lunches. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>A typical hot lunch of noodles and gravy, fruit cocktail, vegetables, and chocolate cake. The meals were prepared and served by airmen from the 200th RED HORSE Squadron DET 1, Ohio Air National Guard. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>One of the shower facilities available to U.S. Air Force personnel during the DABS proof of concept, which ran from July 16 to Aug. 14, 2018, at Poland\u2019s 31st Air Base. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>Over the course of the exercise, 87 trucks, two C-130J aircraft and a train moved the equivalent of 321 pallets of equipment into Krzesiny, Poland, by July 31. These washing machines were among that sent via C-130 to the 31st Air Base. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>On July 31, several U.S. Air Force civil engineers were tapped to perform airfield work for the Polish armed forces. The troops participating in the DABS exercise used a kit of materiel needed for rapid airfield repairs, such as concrete and asphalt, a variety of saws, and other tools. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>An airman uses a chainsaw to remove damaged concrete before a team of civil engineers fills a sinkhole on a maintenance apron on July 31 at the 31st Air Base near Krzesiny, Poland. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>U.S. Air Force personnel, temporarily deployed to the 31st Air Base in Krzesiny, Poland, unload vehicles and shipping containers full of equipment on July 31. The DABS exercise held in July and August will help the service evaluate how quickly it can move materiel onto a partner nation’s base. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>Over the course of the DABS proof of concept, about 60 vehicles and 161 containers worth of equipment were transported from Sanem, Luxembourg, to Krzesiny, Poland, from July 16 to Aug. 1, 2018. (Valerie Insinna\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a> <\/a> <\/a>