Prepping for the ORI: Finding out what it is, what's the point and what's our part Published Aug. 8, 2010 By Senior Airman Dani Shea 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The three wings of Joint Base Charleston are gearing up for our next ORI. Charleston's operational readiness inspection is scheduled to take place Nov. 29 - Dec. 6, 2011, which signals the beginning of the ORI prep season for reservists here in the 315th Airlift Wing. "Right now, we are about 15 months out from our scheduled ORI," said Master Sergeant Clay Coleman, 315th Civil Engineering Flight, during the first ORI brief held at the base theater Sunday, Aug. 8. "This is when the reserve starts prepping because we don't have as much time as the active duty. They'll start prepping about four to six months out." Although the reserve and active duty wings will work together to train for and complete the ORI, each wing will receive an individual grade, as well as, an overall grade ranging from unsatisfactory to outstanding. In 2008, the 315th AW received an overall rating of satisfactory and was awarded four Inspector General team awards and four individual awards for outstanding performances. According to the Air Mobility Command ORI report, "the 315th AW excelled in many areas, clearly demonstrating their readiness to support global mobility operations." For this coming year, the 315th AW will strive to do even better. This process is expected to entail hundreds of Charleston's military members, Active Duty and Reserve, immersing themselves in countless hours of intense training prior to this big week-long test that we'd really like to ace. Which leads to the questions: who's testing us and on what? According to Capt. Wayne Leneau, 315th AW performance planning officer, an ORI is a simulated deployment experience put together by the Air Force Inspector General which basically tests a unit's readiness for war. Doesn't all those extra man-hours and effort toward a mock deployment scenario take away from the true Air Force mission and equal a huge waste of time? In short, the answer is no, this is not a huge waste of everyone's time that the folks at the Air Force IG office have drummed up for kicks. As retired Lt. General Ray Huot, former Air Force inspector general, said, "We have only two real tests of readiness: an ORI and war." Therefore, the buildup to an ORI - the preparation, the practice, participating in operational readiness exercises prior to the graded inspection - provides our already skilled force with more usable, hands-on knowledge and experiences if and/or when they are put in a real-world deployed situation. But, what's the point of testing a unit's hypothetical wartime capabilities when the nation is already at war? "Everyone in the Air Force is not given the chance to deploy during their career but everyone in the Air Force is still expected to be familiar with proper procedures in a deployed situation," said Capt. Leneau. "That's why participating in ORIs is so important. They allow us to assess our capabilities and learn what works and what needs improvement." Now that the 'what' and the 'why' are out of the way, it's time for the game plan. Starting now, there will be ORI training for all primary players and their alternates at each drill weekend until November 2011. All members are required to be well versed in their Airman's Manual; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear warfare (CBRN); self aid buddy care (SABC); ability to survive and operate (ATSO); weapons familiarization, as well as, be subject-matter-experts in their chosen career fields. "As we get closer to the ORI, we will simulate each aspect of what an ORI will entail," said Sergeant Coleman. "By the time this entire process is completed, our people will actually have gone through two week-long operational readiness exercises and one week-long operational readiness inspection." Stay up to date with the 315th Airlift Wing at http://www.315aw.afrc.af.mil/. Follow the 315th on Facebook and Twitter.