Alaska Air Guardsmen, Reservists train to support mission in mock deployed environment

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. N. Alicia Halla
  • 176th Mission Support Group
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  More than 160 members of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Mission Support Group and Air Force Reserve’s 477th Fighter Group participated in exercise MADBULL 17 here May 5 to 8.

This mission support-centered exercise touted its third iteration in the backwoods of the base’s Mad Bull exercise site.

The Airmen accomplished a wide spectrum of training to include airfield mishap surveying, secure network setup from the field, mortuary affairs and deployment accountability and readiness.

“This year's exercise provided a tremendous opportunity to work with the total force,” said Col. Marvin Ee, the commander of the 176th Mission Support Group. “The MADBULL scenarios allowed Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserves, and Air National Guard members to come together to ensure we are ready to execute our contingency capabilities, validating areas where we are strong and areas for improvement.”

Trainers from Air Guard, Reserves and Active Duty units helped ensure the troops’ mission effectiveness in operational concepts such as agile combat employment where smaller military groups can operate outside a traditional base.