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DUKE FIELD, Fla. — The 919th Special Operations Wing validated its full mission cycle for the first time in more than a decade during a comprehensive combat-readiness exercise held April 8–12, demonstrating its ability to rapidly shift from a home-station posture to a deployed combat force.
Over five days, the Air Force Reserve unit established a forward operating base and conducted complex missions in a simulated austere environment designed to mirror restrictive, high-threat conditions. Scenarios stressed the wing’s intelligence, mobility and precision-strike capabilities against unmanned aircraft system incursions, casualty evacuation requirements and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear events.
“Rarely do we have the opportunity to bring the entire wing’s combat power together at once,” said Col. Scott Hurrelbrink, 919th SOW commander. “This exercise allowed us to do exactly that. From the first aircraft launch to the last recovery, every squadron and every support element operated as a deployed, forward operating force.”
Planners structured the event to move beyond rote procedures and force cross-functional problem-solving under pressure. “Our goal was to move beyond the checklist and create a dynamic problem for the wing participants to solve,” said the lead exercise planner. “We’re not just training for the fight, we’re validating their readiness for the future, to answer the nation’s call.”
In addition to supporting its own Citizen Air Commandos, the 919th provided capabilities to four other Air Force Special Operations Command wings and several special operations forces teams, underscoring its capacity to help sustain a larger joint force during contingency operations.
“I appreciated everyone’s hard work and involvement in the exercise,” Hurrelbrink said. “This was another example of how the Air Commandos of the 919th are building the kind of readiness that matters most. It is readiness that warfighters can count on when seconds matter and the mission is non-negotiable.”
Wing officials said the exercise reaffirmed the unit’s ability to generate combat-ready forces on demand and to project airpower in contested environments.
