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"You don't have to get ready if you stay ready," said Case Keenum, the backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns after being asked to start in the absence of Baker Mayfield last October. Keenum went on that night to throw more than 200 yards to bring the Browns to victory over a formidable Denver Broncos squad that was favored to win. Keenum's high level of readiness gave his underdog team the advantage needed to win.
On a similar train of thought, readiness was on the minds of more than two dozen Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 10th Support Group at Torii Station, Okinawa as they participated in an air load training conducted by Kadena Cargo Handling Facility joint inspectors on 22 Sept. on Kadena Air Base.
"This is a new type of training that we have started offering here that is designed to increase efficiency and readiness of units who have the need to load equipment onto aircraft," said Staff Sgt. James Bullard, a joint inspector at the Kadena Cargo Handling Facility. "The 10th Support Group is the first unit to have requested this new training. It seems that they requested this training because they understand the value of shortening loading and inspection times".
During the training 10th SG Soldiers learned how to properly load equipment onto standard 463L metallic pallets to ship cargo by aircraft. Three separate training modules taught the Soldiers how to load low profile (45 inches or lower), medium, and full net set pallets as well as how to conduct joint inspections and calculate the center balance on rolling cargo like vehicles or trailers.
Staff Sgt. Alexander Valdivia, a seasoned mortuary affairs specialist and the noncommissioned officer who coordinated the training for HHC recalled the need for the skills this training provides when he deployed to Liberia where he was involved in the air load mission.
"This would have been good training for everyone to have when we deployed,"
Valdivia said. "This readiness training makes rapid deployments easier to do.
Especially here in Okinawa, the whole reason for us to be ready is to bring the fight to the Pacific and support any units in the area logistically. This training will save us a ton of time. If we come to the flight line incorrectly it takes a lot of hours on our end as well as the Air Force who have to take time to help us fix our problems".
Spc. Mykaila Leeper, an information technology specialist with the 10th SG, received her first training session to properly load pallets.
"I am learning a lot here," Leeper said. "I am learning how to build a stable base for the equipment and how to build and net the pallets with others to make it run smoothly".
According to Bullard, the Kadena Cargo Handling Facility hopes to continue training all services with these training modules to increase efficiency and readiness throughout Okinawa.
