McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tenn. -- Soldiers and Airmen of the Tennessee National Guard participated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency-led exercise Shaken Fury June 1, 2019 at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base.
Airmen of the 134th Air Refueling Wing, along with Soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard's 1/230th Assault Helicopter Battalion Detachment 2 E Company, worked together to offload 7,000 pounds of fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker to an Army fuel truck as part of the joint exercise.
“In a domestic operation situation it don’t matter if it’s the Air or the Army, the public needs us to come as one team with one fight and to help relieve whatever situation is going on,” said Deputy Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Tommy Baker, of the Tennessee National Guard. “So this is why we do this. You don’t want to wait until game day to practice together.”
The fuel transfer was one component of the overall Shaken Fury exercise, which simulated a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) near Memphis. In a real world scenario the KC-135 would fly to an affected area to offload needed fuel to Army trucks that each hold approximately up to 15,000 pounds of fuel.
Tech. Sgt. Ryan Knouff, a crew chief with the 134th Air Refueling Wing and the non-commissioned officer in charge of the training, said this training is helpful for both Air and Army to be able to understand how to work together.
“It opens up your mission capability. Not only is it our mission, it’s their mission,” he added.
Both Airmen and Soldiers worked together to accomplish their mission for the day. They compared notes and briefed Baker on how everything works and the capabilities of the equipment. The purpose of the exercise was to examine and improve the community’s response to a “no-notice” earthquake, recognize shortfalls in resources and develop a coordinated recovery strategy plan.
“That’s why we’re doing this now to get ourselves ready, so when the real thing happens, we’ll be ready to go,” Baker said.