Testing limits: 86 MUNS pushes itself during exercise

Story and photos by Airman 1st Class Lane T. Plummer 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Airmen from the 86th Munitions Squadron and 86th Logistic Readiness Squadron install palettes inside a shipping compartment during an exercise Oct. 25 on Ramstein. After crates of ammunition or explosives are installed within containers, they are inspected before being shipped around the world. The exercise tested Airmen’s ability to more effectively ship and secure ammunition in case of a real-world scenario that would demand more from Ramstein’s 86 MUNS.
Airmen from the 86th Munitions Squadron and 86th Logistic Readiness Squadron install palettes inside a shipping compartment during an exercise Oct. 25 on Ramstein. After crates of ammunition or explosives are installed within containers, they are inspected before being shipped around the world. The exercise tested Airmen’s ability to more effectively ship and secure ammunition in case of a real-world scenario that would demand more from Ramstein’s 86 MUNS.

The 86th Munitions Squadron participated in an exercise Oct. 23 to 26 on Ramstein.

The training exercise tested Airmen’s flexibility by tasking them to increase the pace of their mission throughout the exercise.

Maj. Neal Wilson, 86 MUNS commander, said the exercise provided a look at how they would perform during higher-pace situations.

“The primary goal of this exercise is to measure our throughput capacity,” Wilson said. “We are validating training that we’ve received over time by putting Airmen to the test.”

Airmen throughout the 86th Logistics Readiness Group participated in the exercise, allowing multiple units to train together and build interoperability.

Airmen were broken up into several teams and tasked with a deployment schedule of events, providing the team’s goals to execute and the time limits for them. Some of these missions included stockpiling ammo boxes and bracing them inside International Organization of Standardization shipping containers.

Airmen were maintaining maximum mission readiness, said Wilson.

“This exercise gets to let us knock out the kinks we run into in a training environment, as opposed to a real-world scenario,” Wilson explained.

One of the Airmen that worked alongside the 86 MUNS, Airman 1st Class David Osborne, 86th Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic management journeyman cooperated alongside 86 MUNS Airmen, and enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen partnership ability with other units to complete the same mission.

“It’s always a good thing when you’re able to add variety to your career field,” Osborne said. “Working with other units allows me to help accomplish a large mission while professionally developing myself.”

Whether it was team chemistry, mission readiness or cooperative ability that they trained on, Team Ramstein Airmen proved that it’s ready for the next test that comes their way through this exercise. The mission may demand more at times, but the results never falter under a culture of innovation and excellence.

Airmen from the 86th Munitions Squadron properly secure boxes of ammunition as part of an exercise Oct. 25 on Ramstein. The exercise pushed Airmen to perform jobs as effectively and quickly as possible, such as safely wrapping and loading boxes of ammunition into storage containers.
Airmen from the 86th Munitions Squadron properly secure boxes of ammunition as part of an exercise Oct. 25 on Ramstein. The exercise pushed Airmen to perform jobs as effectively and quickly as possible, such as safely wrapping and loading boxes of ammunition into storage containers.