Patrick Sullivan
The 52nd Combat Communications Squadron conducted Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 29 through Oct. 4, 2024.
The exercise simulated a bare-base deployment, testing the unit’s capabilities in an environment like they may see when they mobilize for a real-world response.
“The purpose of the 52nd, and why combat communication exists, is to deliver expeditionary communications to the warfighter,” described Maj. Nicholas Riascos, 52nd CBCS director of operations and exercise site commander. “We can go out into the middle of a field where there's nothing and we can turn it into a highly effective command control area to be able to deliver combat generation of sorties or mobility or defense of the forces. We bring the capability to be able to communicate anywhere across the planet.”
To practice and test these capabilities the 52nd CBCS stood up a hub-and-spoke system, in which small and agile operating locations report to a larger centralized hub, reflecting real-world agile combat employment operations.
“This exercise is modeled after the way we're trying to fight the fight of the future with ACE,” Riascos said. “If that's the way we're going to fight in the future, we want to expose the Airmen to the same type of scheme of maneuver.”
“We're trying to make sure that all of our team is interoperable,” added Lt. Col. Jessica Zembek, 52nd CBCS commander. “So, the person sitting to your left, you understand what their job is, and the person to the right, you understand what their job is, and that you can do enough to help each other out. Especially when we talk about small teams, that multi-capable Airman is really important because you can't have a single point of failure.”
Conducting 24-hour operations out of three austere locations, 52nd CBCS Airmen faced over 150 injects and scenarios during the six-day exercise, covering objectives like base defense, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response, contested communications and maneuver of force elements, all while achieving their primary mission as combat communicators.
“If this were a real-world scenario, we would be prepared to fall in on this ground, set up our squadron, or whatever is needed to support the customer while providing security, power, and (heating, ventilation and air conditioning),” said Zembek. “We're meant to put stuff on pallets, put stuff on planes, and go set up in a field. That's what the team is doing right now, and I can't simulate that in a garage in my squadron.”
Seven different units across the installation had a hand in the exercise, in both supporting and participatory roles. These included the 728th Battle Management Control Squadron, who integrated 22 personnel across the hub and spokes to conduct mission planning in the field, and the 18th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, who utilized the exercise’s radio capabilities to communicate with live aircraft.
Riascos spoke on how bringing operational partners into the exercise allowed for the both the 52nd CBCS and their mission partners to get more realistic training and better prepare them for ACE operations in the field.
“They're not just sitting at established infrastructure that they already have on their side of base where their buildings are, they're coming to use the expeditionary communication kits, they're going through mission planning iterations,” said Riascos on the 728th BMCS involvement. “They're working through some of the constraints, and then we're finding clever ways to still deliver them capabilities. What I think is valuable is the partnership that we can see on the communications side of the house, being primary enablers to success, and then we can see the operations side of the house, utilizing our capabilities to be able to do their function.”
Another key participant was the 13th Air Task Force, newly activated and designated by the Air Force to test new methods to generate more efficient, integrated deployable units of action. The 13th ATF sent three members to learn tactics, techniques, and procedures to take back to their training and certification events, using the 52nd CBCS’s depth of experience and innovation to drive reoptimization in an era of great power competition.
Ultimately, AG 25-1 successfully certified 44 members of the 52nd CBCS in their Air Force Force Generation requirements, greatly increasing the deployable capabilities of the unit. Additionally, 117 personnel across 11 different career fields were able to validate their skills and competence in a challenging and realistic field environment, strengthening the overall operational effectiveness of not just the 52nd CBCS, but all agencies that participated in the exercise.
Staff. Sgt. Daniel Papic, left, 52nd Combat Communications Squadron initial communications non-commissioned officer in charge, and Tech. Sgt. Maxwell Harris, 52nd CBCS tactical communications supervisor, maintain perimeter of a spoke location during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 3, 2024. The exercise included over 150 injects, many of which tested the 52nd CBCS Airmen’s ability to conduct communications operations while dealing with security threats to their base of operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airmen assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron respond to a simulated base incursion during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 2, 2024. The 52nd CBCS conducted 24-hour operations out of three austere locations, using a hub-and-spoke operational structure. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airmen from the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron act as opposing force during a simulated base assault for exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. The 13th Air Task Force embedded three members into AG 25-1, learning tactics, techniques, and procedures to take back to their training and certification events. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airmen assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron defend their location from a simulated assault during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. AG 25-1 tested the 52nd CBCS’s ability to deliver expeditionary communications to the warfighter, the primary role of the squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airman 1st Class Saif Hasanji, a personnel specialist assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron, retrieves an M4A1 carbine during a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 2, 2024. The exercise included a total of 177 injects, covering objectives including base defense, CBRN response, contested communications and maneuver of force elements. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Staff. Sgt. Daniel Papic, left, 52nd Combat Communications Squadron initial communications non-commissioned officer in charge, and Tech. Sgt. Maxwell Harris, 52nd CBCS tactical communications supervisor, break down communications equipment at a spoke location during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 3, 2024. AG 25-1 tested Airmen with injects covering four scenarios, one of which being chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Tech. Sgt. Maxwell Harris, a tactical communications supervisor assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron, breaks down communications equipment at a spoke location during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 3, 2024. AG 25-1 involved a total of seven units, several of which were operational mission partners using the communications equipment set up and maintained by the 52nd CBCS during the exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airmen assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron defend their location from a simulated assault during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. The exercise was modeled after how the unit utilizes agile combat employment tactics in their current and projected operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Airmen of the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron act as opposing force during a simulated base assault for exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. The exercise included several combat-centric injects to test both the defense response and performance under stress of the combat communication Airmen. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
An Airman assigned to the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron retrieves simulated casualties during exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. The exercise tested the unit’s ability to train and provide multi-capable Airmen, where small teams can perform a variety of tasks across career fields. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan) 
Members of the 52nd Combat Communications Squadron pose for a group photo after the culminating event of exercise Agile Gator 25-1 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Oct. 4, 2024. AG 25-1 included over 100 participants across seven units, strengthening operational effectiveness and cohesion for all involved. (U.S. Air Force photo by Patrick Sullivan)