Razor Sharp: 916th Air Refueling Wing shines during new inspection process

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alan Abernethy
  • 916th Public Affairs Office
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The sky rumbled, and the earth shook as two F-16 Fighting Falcons flew low over Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. As explosions rang out, Airmen responded to the attack by scrambling to care for the injured.

Though it was only a test, and the injuries were simulated, the situation was as realistic as possible and the environment very serious.

It was all part of Exercise Razor Sharp, a four-day event conducted by the 916th Air Refueling Wing over an extended Reserve drill weekend in June.

"Razor Sharp was unique," said Lt. Col. Scott Teel, 916th ARW inspector general. "I don't know of another wing that has, totally in-house, combined an ability to survive and operate conventional inspection with a non-conventional generation inspection in a four-day period."

The exercise was designed to fulfill the wing's requirements for annual readiness and aircraft generation inspections, he said. It's all part of the new force-wide commander's inspection process.

"It's up to our wing commander to determine what his requirements are to be confident that his people can deploy to an austere location, establish a base, and operate and survive at that base," Teel said. "The good thing about the new program is that it's not one size fits all; it's tailored for what, realistically, our unit would be tasked to do."

In addition to a simulated attack with "boomer" gas-cannon explosions, the exercise included skills evaluation centers for weapons handling; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense, and self-aid and buddy care.

"The battle staff was almost task-saturated throughout the inspection by naturally occurring events, as well as IG injects," Teel said.

This was the largest exercise the 916th ARW has ever planned and executed, said Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Williams, 916th IG inspections superintendent, who has been a member of the wing for more than 25 years. To execute such a broad range of scenarios, the wing paired with many active-duty units, including some from the 4th Fighter Wing, Seymour Johnson's active-duty host.

"We employed multi-command, total force integration support while flying real-world support for Exercise Razor Talon, the largest air defense exercise on the East Coast," Teel said.

Active-duty units that participated in the exercise included the 4th FW inspector general office, 4th FW explosive ordnance disposal organization and 4th FW civil engineer organization. The 77th Fighter Squadron from Shaw AFB, South Carolina, provided the low-flying F-16s.

All players were encouraged to fully embrace the challenges imposed by the exercise, said Col. Gregory Gilmour, 916th ARW commander.

"We have new people in key positions," Gilmour said. "I know we can perform the mission, so my guidance was to focus on making it a learning experience."

While the IG staff did uncover some weaknesses, many outstanding performers and overall strengths were observed, Teel said.

"I think wing leadership will agree with me when I say everyone learned an enormous amount on how to effectively manage demanding missions while, at the same time, determining the health of the wing," he said.