AFGSC practices Constant Vigilance

B-52H Stratofortresses taxi on the runway during Exercise Constant Vigilance at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., April 17, 2016. Air Force Global Strike Command conducts training operations and exercises on a regular basis to ensure our forces are ready to perform nuclear deterrence operations and long-range strike missions if and when called upon to do so. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class J.T. Armstrong)

AFGSC practices Constant Vigilance

B-52 Stratofortress aircrew from Barksdale Air Force Base, La. prepares for takeoff April 17, 2016 at Minot AFB, N.D. in preparation of Constant Vigilance 2016, an annual Air Force Global Strike Command training event that exercises the command’s ability to support its conventional and nuclear missions. This exercise included simultaneous elements testing AFGSC’s policies, training and techniques at tactical and operational levels. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jessica Weissman)

Dyess participates in AFGSC annual exercise for the first time

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ross Perry, 7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electronic warfare noncommissioned officer in charge, left, and Airman 1st Class Terrance Boykins, 7th AMXS crew chief, work on a B-1B Lancer April 9, 2016, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. Perry and Boykins participated in Exercise Constant Vigilance 16, which tests the Air Force Global Strike Command’s ability to respond quickly and effectively in a real-world situation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Shannon Hall/Released)

AFGSC practices Constant Vigilance

First Lt. Brittnay Taboada, 90th Security Forces Squadron, briefs the security forces on-scene commander, Master Sgt. Kimberly Rumph, and the incident commander, Tech. Sgt. Garey Schmidt, during an exercise on F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, April 13, 2016. Security forces were the first to arrive at the staging area and handed off control to the incident commander once the scene was secure. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Valle)

Poised and ready: Whiteman Airmen participate in annual AFGSC exercise

A B-2 Spirit awaits loading procedures during the CONSTANT VIGILANCE 16 exercise at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., April 12, 2016. The exercise included simultaneous elements that tested and refined Air Force Global Strikes policies, training and techniques at the tactical and operational levels. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keenan Berry)

AFGSC practices Constant Vigilance

A 37th Helicopter Squadron UH-1N Bell Helicopter prepares to land and drop off 790th Missile Security Forces Squadron Tactical Response Force Airmen April 14, 2016, outside a launch facility in the F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, Missile Complex. The 37th HS supports the mission of the 90th Missile Wing by providing aerial surveillance and emergency deployments of security response forces throughout the base and missile field. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brandon Valle)

Dyess participates in AFGSC annual exercise for the first time

A B-1B Lancer takes off April 11, 2016, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, during Exercise Constant Vigilance 16. CV16 is an annual Air Force Global Strike Command training exercise that tests the readiness of all Airmen and aircraft within the command. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Austin Mayfield/Released)

Poised and ready: Whiteman Airmen participate in annual AFGSC exercise

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Caleb Watkins, left, and Tech. Sgt. Jaime Farmer, both aircraft armament systems technicians assigned to the 131st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron (AMXS), prep a munitions handling unit (MHU)-204 trailer for loading procedures at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., April 14, 2016, Watkins and Farmer are two of three 131st AMXS drill-status guardsmen who loaded weapons to the B-2 Spirit during an exercise for the time during CONSTANT VIGILANCE 16. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Keenan Berry)

AFGSC practices Constant Vigilance

Published April 20, 2016
By Joe Thomas
Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Air Force Global Strike Command participated in Constant Vigilance April 11-15, an annual exercise that tests its ability to conduct both conventional and nuclear operations.

Designed to apply stress to all aspects of AFGSC, to include mission planners, aircrews, maintainers, security forces and administrative personnel, the training event forced almost all of the command's personnel to remain alert and operationally ready to execute the mission at a moment's notice.

"This is the first time that we've incorporated all of these elements into a single exercise here at the major command level," said Maj. Ryan Graves, chief of AFGSC exercises. "It requires a great deal of communication between all operational levels and as well as support organizations, which have largely remained untested in these types of exercises until this point."

Exercise elements like cyber attacks and force protection scenarios tested base-level AFGSC headquarters responses.
Although AFGSC hosts the exercise annually, new this year was the incorporation of the 7th and 28th Bomb Wing's B-1s and the 377th Air Base Wing at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico.
Overall, Constant Vigilance tested the command's ability to respond to conventional and nuclear operations as well as its ability to protect itself against small ground attacks against its wings in northern tier areas. The event is only one of several annual exercises that AFGSC participates in to include Global Lightning and Global Thunder.

"We wanted to test the command's ability to communicate with all of its components and stress those assets in an effort to make the scenario as realistic as possible," said U.S. Navy Lt. Mitch Normand, executive chief of AFGSC exercises. "Such an effort forces everyone to focus on the bigger picture rather than remain 'stove-piped' in their individual areas. These exercises not only allow us to train how we fight, they remind us that we always have to maintain a 'one-team' mindset."