Joint Base Charleston, S.C. –
Joint Base Charleston, S.C. - Members of Joint Base Charleston kicked off an annual combat readiness exercise on base, Jan. 13, 2026, putting Airmen to the test in a fast-paced, realistic training environment.
Throughout the exercise, teams across the base will work through a variety of scenarios designed to challenge how quickly and effectively they can secure the installation, support operations and project airpower on short notice.
On Jan. 14, 2026, Joint Base Charleston C-17 Globemaster III aircraft left for the Indo-Pacific, taking the exercise down range, pushing crews and support teams to operate from austere locations while demonstrating the base’s ability to project strategic airlift thousands of miles from home.
“We're actually doing something that we've never done before, and we're deploying 9,000 miles into the Pacific with eight C-17s to really stress test what our capabilities are and what we can do in strategic airlift,” said Col. Patrick McClintock, 437th Airlift Wing commander.
This type of training is essential to staying ready for real-world missions and ensuring Joint Base Charleston can deliver strategic airlift whenever and wherever it’s needed.
“This is also our opportunity to evaluate our ability here at the installation to ensure that we can sustain those operations,” said Col. Jason Parker, 628th Air Base Wing and Joint Base Charleston commander. “We are going to stress test processes, systems and people to ensure that we can safeguard this installation, the infrastructure facilities and our local community.”
Exercises like this one help train deploying units, strengthening air base defense capabilities and ensuring teams are prepared to operate in challenging conditions alongside partners across the globe, while also making sure our local operations can run smoothly.