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Team Ramstein is participating in an intensive exercise through Wednesday. Airmen and personnel will rehearse various situations relating to a base attack scenario.
The exercise, Wing Thunder, is not a response to specific threats but a preplanned initiative to evaluate Airmen’s response to new scenarios and ensure Team Ramstein’s readiness and ability to respond to emergent situations.
“It’s vital that we exercise our responses to major incidents to ensure we maintain our core competencies and emergency response capabilities, while continuing to operate the world’s premier power projection platform,” said Brig. Gen. Jon Thomas, the 86th AW commander. “Should an emergency arise, every member of Team Ramstein must know how to respond. Inspections such as this are vital to ensuring the safety and preparedness of the Kaiserslautern Military Community and our local, host-nation neighbors.”
The rigorous exercise is designed to test multiple facets of installation response and will cause delays and possible disruptions.
Delays are expected at all Ramstein, Vogelweh and Einsiedlerhof gates Tuesday. The potential exists for delays to occur at other installations in the area as well. Disruptions can also be expected at numerous base and community support activities, and movement within installations will be affected.
As the exercise progresses, community members and base housing residents may notice different activity and hear sirens and messages from the base’s Giant Voice system. These are all part of the program, and those on the installation during this time should follow any directions from the Giant Voice or active-duty personnel.
The community should anticipate major delays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday. It is recommended individuals without an immediate need to access these installations avoid doing so until after 3 p.m. In addition, personnel on base should plan to conduct their activities and movements before 9 a.m. or after 3 p.m. Emergency responders and alert crews will have access to base via the Large Vehicle Inspection System Gate during periods of impeded gate access.
The disruptions are temporary, and the community’s patience is appreciated. While potentially disruptive, exercises like this ensure Team Ramstein is ready to meet the dynamic challenges of today’s global environment and the needs of the United States, while keeping military families safe and secure.
