MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The 5th Bomb Wing conducted SURGE Week here from Dec. 12 - 14. SURGE Week tests warfighting capabilities, focusing on training efforts for scenarios where a large number of sorties need to be produced swiftly and efficiently.
Typically, the goal of SURGE Week is to produce 50% more flights than what is normally flown on a daily schedule. On an average week this time of year, Minot has about 26 sorties per week, but during SURGE Week the goal was to do 42 in three days.
A plan is required to maintain the 5th Bomb Wing’s efficiency to ensure the success of SURGE Week and achieve mission accomplishment.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Josh Weber, 69th Aircraft Maintenance Unit lead production superintendent, describes the overall goal for SURGE Week was to make every sortie successful.
“We will send up eight aircraft on our morning lines with 30-minute intervals, and then they will land, we will turn them, we will send up six more again and they have to take off within 30 minutes,” said Weber.
Aircraft maintenance plays a large role, but many other parts of the 5th Bomb Wing worked together to make SURGE Week happen.
Weber spoke about some of the other agencies that contribute to SURGE Week from the 5th Force Support Squadron providing meals for the maintainers working 12 hours a day, to the 5th Operations Group accumulating north of 180 flying hours over three days, and the 5th Logistics Readiness Squadron delivering 1.3 million pounds of fuel required for the aircraft to pull off all those flying hours.
Providing training opportunities as substantial as SURGE Week to service members is crucial for preparing Airmen for any incident where they are crucially needed.
“It's a test of our warfighting capability,” said Weber. “It really proves that we can meet the expectations that our commanders need.”
With another training success, the 5th Bomb Wing is ready to answer any call to action.
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