JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
The 316th, 89th and 11th Wings at Andrews and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling tested their unit’s operational effectiveness, compliance and deployment preparedness in a Combat Readiness Exercise during the week of March 10-14, 2025.
The CRE is designed to assess the wings’ abilities to execute mission-critical tasks, overcome planned challenges, find areas of improvement and problem-solve as a team while maintaining daily operations.
The exercise allowed Airmen to face challenges ranging from simulated power and communications outages to correcting complex coordination issues. These exercises go beyond physical fitness, evaluating participants’ ability to solve problems, adapt to unexpected situations and develop the mental fortitude required in real-world operations.
"This Combat Readiness Exercise provided a unique opportunity to test our base's readiness on a larger scale than usual,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Zachary From, an exercise planner assigned to the 316th Wing Inspector General’s office.
From also said, bringing both Andrews and JBAB together presented valuable training and highlighted areas for improvement across our joint base environment.
“JBA and JBAB ran the CRE in parallel with each other,” From said. “There were actions that took place on JBAB that resulted in decisions being made for JBA such as FPCON changes, and various support agreements being exercised or analyzed.”
This exercise was critical in preparation for a larger-scale Combat Readiness Inspection scheduled later in the year.
"I hope this serves as a wake-up call for our Airmen at JBA and JBAB,” From added. “Global threats are real, and exercises like this underscore the importance of remaining vigilant and prepared.”