Ready Multi-Capable Raiders, 13th CABS activates Ellsworth AFB component

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Dylan Maher
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  The 13th CABS is a component of the 13th Air Task Force, one of six identified by the Department of the Air Force as a step toward deployable combat wings, through the Air Force Force Generation Model (AFFORGEN) cycle.

The 13th CABS was activated Aug. 5, 2024, assigned to the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, consisting of 340 personnel across three locations: Luke AFB, McConnell AFB, and Ellsworth AFB.

Airmen from seven squadrons within the 28th Bomb Wing assembled at the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron Prime Base Emergency Engineer Force (BEEF) to welcome the 13th CABS commander and kick-off Ellsworth’s training program.

“In the personnel world, our focus is administrative support,” said Senior Airman Timothy O’Brien, 28th Force Support Squadron force management technician. “Serving as a member of the 13th CABS, my scope of support goes beyond a typical office space and becomes the expectation of being combat mission ready.”

Training modules covered include base security protocol, structural competency, logistics and transportation methods, and other skills that Airmen learned outside of their Air Force Specialty Code.

“This advanced readiness training program ensures that we understand what it means to be a multi-capable Airman and how to execute these various skills as a team,” said Airman First Class Ashton Hess, 28th Communications Squadron network systems operations technician.

Working with computer networks and ensuring their serviceability by trade, Hess was one of many Airmen who were selected to support the 13th CABS and gained exposure into a different set of skills.

“I’m excited to be a part of the 13th Air Task Force,” said Hess. “When we train as team and deploy as a team, it only makes our unit more cohesive and effective.”

As the Ellsworth component furthers their training program at an alternate duty location in Dec 2024, The 13th CABS is slated to be the 13th Air Task Force’s primary base operation support element as well as the sustainment layer within the AFFORGEN cycle.

For more information on Air Task Force, visit www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3917222/air-combat-command-activates-3-air-task-force-units/