Commander welcomes ORI, says goodbye to Airstream Published Feb. 2, 2012 By Col. Reinhard Schmidt 910th Airlift Wing Commander YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Happy New Year and welcome to 2012! As we move into the next two years, one of our biggest challenges will be the Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI), scheduled for June 2013. For some of you, getting ready for the ORI is a completely new experience and you may be a bit apprehensive when it comes to preparing for this inspection. For others, it may seem to be a flashback! However, I can assure you that if we all work together and keep our lines of communication open, we will achieve great success with the ORI and maintain the tradition of excellence the Youngstown Air Reserve Station is known for across the command. In the days following the January Unit Training Assembly, Lt. Col. Bart Elsea, the 910th's ORI Warlord, a team of area experts from YARS and I met with our ORI counterparts from the 152nd Airlift Wing, Nevada Air National Guard C-130 unit and the 319th Air Base Wing, an active duty unit at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D. This ORI Joint Planning Conference was hosted by the 152nd in Reno, Nev. Together we will form a team for the AMC/IGX next year. The conference was very successful, resulting in the determination that the 910th will be the lead wing for the ORI and will help prepare the team for success at the "big event." While speaking to the group in Reno, I compared the ORI and its preparation to a Broadway play; with a producer, director, actors, stage hands, scenes and costumes. The ORI itself is our "opening night" performance in front of the "critics" -- our only shot at a great review. In order for our "opening night" to be a hit, there are things we have to do to get ready. Everyone needs to take ownership of their part and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Roadmap to ORI First, over the next few weeks, the 910th, the 152nd and the 319th will finalize the ORI players and their alternates from the functional areas across our respective wings. You will be the "actors" -- our primary ORI players. Each of you will need to know your parts as "characters" in the ORI. And, just like in a stage show, we will also finalize who will be our "understudies" or our ORI alternates. The rest have important jobs too in helping make a successful production--ORI--come together. You will be ensuring proper professional standards are met from Airlift to Z99. You will help in the organizing, equipping and training of the ORI players. This May we will have our second Readiness Assistance Visit (RAV2). RAV2 includes all the players and some directors from all three wings. The total cast will deploy to the Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Alpena, Mich., for some intensive ATSO (Ability to Survive and Operate) and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive) training in a war scenario by 22nd Air Force. After RAV2, each wing will return to their base and rehearse what they've learned, throughout the summer, to perfection. Through discoveries learned by rehearsing, refinements will be made to the plan to enhance our war-fighting capabilities. Then in October, the Base Operation Support (BOS) portions of the three wings will regroup at Grand Forks AFB to rehearse their functional area roles, again, in a war scenario. The final preparation, the "Full Dress Rehearsal," -- Operational Readiness Exercise (ORE) -- will be held in April 2013. We will again deploy to the CRTC in Alpena, MI. Unlike the RAV2 and the BOS exercise, the ORE will focus on evaluating your ATSO and CBRNE skills and your skills in your functional area in a combat environment rather than training. Everyone must perform to the highest standards. The ORE is the last opportunity for the three wings to work together before the curtain goes up and the AMC IG inspectors, our "critics," come in to review our performance on "Opening Night," in June 2013. Well, there it is... the way ahead on the road to the ORI or "Opening Night." It may seem like a daunting task but I know each and every one of you is up to the challenge. Keep a positive attitude, become familiar with your Airman's manual and learn your Mission Essential Task List (METLs) for your functional area. That's what being a professional is all about. Being a professional at that level will give you the flexibility to handle the challenges the IG inspectors will throw at you during the ORI. The ORI and the preparation for it is a big production. A lot of money and other resources will be spent on ensuring we have an "Outstanding" review on "Opening Night." Your full cooperation and immersion into the team, whatever your role, will have a direct impact on how Youngstown ARS is viewed for many years to come. I know you are up to the challenges ahead of you! Before you know it, you'll be reminiscing about the ORI experience with teammates, colleagues, and friends. Final Hard-Copy Airstream If you haven't heard, this will be the last Airstream in a print format. During the last couple of months, Public Affairs, commanders and key staff deliberated over whether to continue a hard-copy version or go virtual, and we reached our decision. We are going to make the Wing's public website the source for news distribution. By using the website, Public Affairs achieves the ability to improve the currency of information, tell more stories about what the 910th is doing at home and around the world and produce high impact video news clips. The website provides new capabilities, an unlimited amount of space to utilize and a vastly larger audience to reach at a lower cost to taxpayers. This change puts our story in the hands of everyone with a laptop, tablet or smart phone. The Public Affairs staff have some exciting plans in store for the way you, your families and the public will learn about the great organization you embody at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in the future. Special Thanks BCC I want to take this final hard-copy opportunity to thank all the members of The Base Community Council for their unending support to Youngstown ARS; especially, the Board members that give so much of their time, energy and resources. As Installation Commander of Youngstown ARS, I extend the appreciation of ALL the personnel on the installation to: Paul O'Brien, President; Dave Deibel, Vice President; Judge Robert Milich, Secretary; Fred Kubli, Treasurer; Renee LaCivita, Special Events Coordinator; and Chief Master Sgt. Mary Julian, Recorder.