YARS Airmen complete exercise to prepare for deployment Published March 5, 2014 By Technical Sergeant Valerie Smock 910th Airlift Wing Public Affairs YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Air Force Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 910th Airlift Wing participated in Patriot Penguin, a deployment exercise, during the March Unit Training Assembly here, March 1, 2014. The purpose of the annual exercise is to practice the deployment process. Although the 910th deploys people regularly, the exercise gives Airmen a chance to practice deploying large groups of people in a short amount of time. The point of the exercise is to practice and fully understand the planning, preparation and execution of Air Force deployment. "Practice makes perfect," said U.S. Air Force Reserve Airman Tech. Sgt. Kalee Lint, Program Manager for the Development and Training Flight and Command Chief executive assistant. "If we're ever called up to deploy, it will be like second nature to us." The Personnel Deployment Function (PDF) line, which is part of the deployment process, was a big part of the exercise but is just a small piece of the puzzle. No matter how small the piece, the exercises are still vital. "The more we practice these types of things, the better prepared we are for inspections and real world deployments," said U.S. Air Force Reserve Master Sgt. Kelly Turner, 910th Airlift Wing career advisor and Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of the PDF. "The better prepared we are, the less stress the person getting deployed will experience as well as commanders." During the deployment process, there are different stations Airmen must go through in order to get out the door. The exercise was a way to simulate this scenario. They began at the starting line, where they processed all the necessary paperwork. The Airmen then listened to important briefings consisting of information from the Chaplain, Safety and Medical offices. Once the briefings were completed, they were taken to the passenger waiting area until they would, in an actual deployment, be escorted to waiting aircraft for departure from YARS. "This is more of a way to simulate going into harm's way," said U.S. Air Force Reserve Senior Master Sgt. Chad Brown, 910th Airlift Wing Safety supervisor and exercise briefer. "In this case we're simulating a deployment to Japan." Brown said these exercises can be beneficial because they not only give Airmen the knowledge needed to prepare for deployment; it also helps get them into the right mindset. "This is where reality hits," said Brown. "It's where you know you are really deploying. It can be scary because you don't know where you're going. It's the feeling of the unexpected and the unknown. You can see it in their eyes of who has been somewhere and who hasn't." Even though it was not an actual deployment, there was still plenty of work that went into the exercise. In this instance, there were only four groups, also known as a chalk, going through the PDF. A chalk is usually made up of enough passengers to fill one of the 910th's C-130 Hercules aircraft. In an actual deployment, there could be as many as 50 chalks, which would include personnel and cargo. There would also be longer shiftwork for people involved in the deployment process. "Everyone had to learn how to do different things," said Lint. "There were many hours put into this." Lint said she can empathize with everyone who took part in the exercise, now having been through the PDF from both sides. "I used to process people out to deploy so I'm used to being on the other side," said Lint. "They've got their act together." With any type of exercise, there can be some problems or situations that don't go as planned. Even though there were some veterans working the PDF, there were Airmen, new to the task, willing to step up and take charge. "There were a few bumps in the road for the first chalk, but that is common," said Turner. "Once the kinks were ironed out it went very well. We had new people training on the line who did a great job. Some Airmen really dove right in and didn't hesitate to make decisions." Turner said it's all about working together and keeping an open line of conversation that really helped create a successful exercise. "I think communication really is the key to a successful exercise and also a positive attitude," said Turner. "No one likes going through the process, but a positive attitude makes all the difference!"