Kaiserslautern American, August 17, 2018

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Ramstein 27 DAYS Bazaar until the bazaar! Ramstein Air Base Hangars 1 & 2 and the Giant Tent

13-16 September

www.RamsteinBazaar.org

August 17, 2018 | Volume 42, Number 33

CULTURE

NEWS

Get ready for the 71st Air Force Ball, Page 3

Poland hosts first Deployable Air Base System exercise, Page 5

EDUCATION

SLO helps new students transition smoothly, Page 12

Read the KA also online at KaiserslauternAmerican.com

‘World’s best wing’ welcomes new commander by 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark, Third Air Force commander, left, presents the guidon to Brig. Gen. Mark R. August, 86th Airlift Wing commander, right, during a change of command ceremony on Ramstein Air Base, Aug. 9. This passing of the guidon symbolizes the seamless transfer of authority from one commander to another. Photo by Airman 1st Class D. Blake Browning

On the job: Preparing a landing zone in Poland Story and photos by Senior Airman Joshua Magbanua 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

POWIDZ AIR BASE, POLAND 

The summer sun beat down upon the grass field at Powidz Air Base, Poland; the neverending waves of scorching heat could have mummified anyone foolhardy enough to soak in the sunlight beneath

the empty, cloudless sky. But there was a motley crew who might have been willing to do just that: five Airmen sped down the sea of grass in their blue-gray van, galloping over the hills and bumping along the way. “You think it’s gonna be just as hot today like it was yesterday?” the driver asked his partner in the passenger seat.

“They say it’s supposed to be even hotter today,” responded the other. “Hope you brought lots of water.” The Airmen hail from the 435th Contingency Response Group on Ramstein Air Base. They were in Poland to support a bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Polish air forces. The crew’s mission was to

establish zones where aircraft can drop supply packages and make dirt landings. While each member of the crew has his own specialty and trade, they worked together to make the mission possible. They were also coming out to support Polish air force troops establishing their own landing operations. “What we’re doing out here right now is verifying a site we previously surveyed,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt.

Th e men and women of the 86th Airlift Wing welcomed their new commander, Brig. Gen. Mark R. August, Aug. 9. Brig. Gen. Richard G. Moore Jr. relinquished his command to August in a ceremony at the dual bay hangar. Reflecting on his time in command, Moore noted that creating command legacies is not about individuals, but teams of Airmen working together. “No individual commander in an organization this size leaves an individual legacy,” said Moore. “Commanders are part of the ongoing set of initiatives and priorities and responsibilities that started before we got here and carry on long after.” Moore cited several examSee NEW COMMANDER, Page 2

Laramie Combs, a contingency response airfield manager. “Our job is to establish landing zones and drop zones in austere environments. We have here a plot of land approximately seven thousand feet long and 180 feet wide; theoretically we could cut it up into several different LZs. “We truly are the first ones in and we stay until the case is established,” he continued, See LANDING ZONE, Page 6


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