621st Contingency Response Wing

The 621st Contingency Response Wing (621 CRW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.

Mission
The 621 CRW is responsible for training and rapidly deploying personnel to quickly open airfields in remote locations and extend Air Mobility Command's ability to deploy people and equipment around the globe.

Most of the operations can be classified by three types, Joint Task Force, Port Opening, (JTF-PO), where USAF and US Army units create distribution chains, Expeditionary Air Mobility Support, (EAMS) where CRW personnel augment existing forces for the mission, and Initial Airbase Opening (IAO)

Unit history and significant operations

 * In 2005, the 621st was created with four groups, eight squadrons and ten geographically separated operating locations aligned with major US Army and Marine Corps combat units. The wing maintains a ready corps of light, lean and agile mobility support forces able to respond as directed by the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., in order to meet Combatant Command wartime and humanitarian requirements.


 * Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake of  12 January, the 817th Contingency Response Group deployed to Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport, Port-au-Prince, Haiti in support of Operation Unified Response. Before the earthquake, Toussaint L'Ouverture handled an average of 20 flights a day. Immediately following the earthquake this number jumped dramatically. At its peak on 19 January, more than 160 aircraft landed and were safely unloaded by the CRW—an 800 percent increase in air traffic from pre-disaster levels.


 * In June 2010, Airmen from the 819th Global Support Squadron deployed to Camp Marmal, Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan to provide aerial cargo handling support for the Operation Enduring Freedom logistics surge.


 * The 816th Contingency Response Group was inactivated on 11 June 2010.


 * August 2010, 30 Airmen from the 818th Contingency Response Group deployed as a Contingency Response Element, or CRE, to Chaklala Airbase, Pakistan. Once deployed, they provided additional aerial port capabilities to increase aircraft loading efficiency for the Pakistan Air Force's Central Flood Relief Cell.

Operations for NASA
With a separation of over 1,000 miles, teams from the 621st are ready to launch at a moment's notice in support of the Space Shuttle launches.

Designed to provide a quick response mobility force, the 621st CRW's shuttle support mission will only be executed in the event of a post launch emergency that forces the shuttle to land at an alternate location. CRW Airmen will sit on-call during the schedule launch to facilitate the response in case the shuttle mission is aborted.

Major command

 * Air Mobility Command

Numbered Air Force

 * 18th Air Force (18 AF)
 * 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force (21 EMTF)

Subordinate organizations
621st Contingency Operations Support Group (621 COSG) 
 * 819th Global Support Squadron (819 GSS)
 * 21st Air Mobility Operations Squadron (21 AMOS)
 * Air Mobility Liaison Officers (26)

817th Contingency response Group (817 CRG) 
 * 817th Global Mobility Squadron (817 GMS)
 * 817th Global Mobility Readiness Squadron (817 GMRS)

818th Contingency response Group (818 CRG) 
 * 818th Global Mobility Squadron (818 GMS)
 * 818th Global Mobility Readiness Squadron (818 GMRS)