Reservists participate in phase-one exercise Published April 6, 2011 By Staff Sgt. Charles White 442nd Maintenance Squadron WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- After having surpassed the phase II operational readiness inspection, the 442nd Fighter Wing began preparing for the Phase I ORI, March 5-6. The world is an ever-changing environment, which provides the 442nd FW an opportunity to use the Phase I ORI to train and deploy ready reservists. Senior Master Sgt. Kevin McMenemy, 442nd Maintenance Squadron egress flight chief said he was very impressed with how well the different shops meshed together. "It takes an exponential amount of teamwork across the shops to accomplish the mission," he said. "It's amazing to me how much we can actually accomplish with the proper amount of coordination and cooperation." The exercise in March was only one step in a long process of perfecting the wing's actions prior to the August inspection. "I think everything is a learning process," said Maj. Christina Manning, 442nd Maintenance Squadron commander. "We will take the results of this exercise and adapt and overcome any shortfalls." The wing demonstrated its ability to perform its war-time function during the phase II ORI portion of this inspection in July 2010. Like the phase II inspection, the maintainers aren't the only ones being tested; it's the entire wing that's involved, and it's the wings cohesiveness that and ability to mirror active-duty counterparts that will lead to an outstanding rating. The phase I inspection is designed to test the wing's ability to mobilize at a moment's notice. From Airmen being processed in the deployment center, to aircraft generations, tools and ground equipment required to support combat operations, everything tested in the phase I ORI is what gets Airmen warriors to where they need to be to fulfill the nation's call. Follow-up operational readiness exercises are scheduled for May and July with a readiness-assistance visit scheduled for June. The wing is scheduled to be inspected Aug. 26-28. Reservists can continue to refer to the yellow pages of the Mohawk for information regarding preparation for the ORI.