VOLK FIELD, Wis. -- Over 500 men and women and four KC-135s from the 185th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) in Sioux City, Iowa returned Saturday morning from an operational readiness exercise in Volk Field, Wis.

This two-day exercise put Airmen through a variety of war-related scenarios to see how they might deploy quickly, handle real-world conflict, and survive in a chemical combat environment. The exercise included elements of homeland security, chemical weapon response, anti-terrorism, host-nation relations and combat operations.

Col. Edward Sauley, the acting Commander of the deployed unit, said the exercise provided an excellent training opportunity. "We have a lot of new Airmen and some people in new leadership positions, so this gave us an excellent opportunity to see what we need to work on."

Sauley added, "We showed a great attitude during this exercise. We did a lot right, but, like always,  there are things we can certainly improve upon."

The 185th ARW will conduct a more comprehensive operational readiness exercise next summer, followed by an operational readiness inspection in the fall. For more information about this event, contact the 185th Public Affairs office at 712-233-0321 or email the Batscan at 185arw.batscan@ang.af.mil.