Steel Anvil 2026 Forges Reserve Readiness

The Georgia weather – hot, humid and unforgiving, hangs over the Steel Airmen of the 32nd Aerial Port Squadron as an inescapable blanket. Torrential downpours sporadically flood the pavement within the blink of an eye and are just as quickly turned to a thick coat of steam as the sun peers back through the clouds. Yet these “Port Dawgs” remained vigilant and steadfast, honing their capabilities despite the unpredictable and inclement weather, even as they donned full Mission-Oriented Protective Posture gear. Just as steel is forged under intense heat and pressure, so were the Steel Airmen during the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s first squadron-level flyaway exercise dedicated to air transportation specialists, July 11-12, 2026. Exercise Steel Anvil was conducted to test the skills and competencies of approximately 30 Port Dawgs in contested conditions and scenarios, both planned and impromptu.

"Steel Anvil is a first attempt to create a proof of concept for the air transportation community to fly away from their home base…and exercise skill sets required for a deployed environment while testing them in MOPP levels as well as modern day threats," said Maj. James Tringas, 32nd APS commander. “Also it's an effort to innovate how aerial port squadrons across Air Force Reserve Command train and prepare for deployments.”

The concept for Steel Anvil originated about 18 months ago, driven by what Tringas described as a gap in the Air Force's evolving certification model: newer certification exercises focus on command-and-control elements, leaving support functions such as aerial ports without a comparable readiness test. Historically, aerial ports rotated through the same overseas locations repeatedly without facing varied or evolving threats — a cycle leadership sought to break.

“It was a lot of wash, rinse and repeat,” said Tringas. “We looked at it as an evolving threat picture that we needed to prepare our Airmen better for. Being Reserve Airmen, we only get a limited amount of time — one weekend a month, two weeks of annual tour a year.”

Time, it seems, is the true enemy of readiness.

Recognizing that, leadership within the 32nd APS set out to break the mold of larger, week-long exercises, opting instead for a high-intensity, two-day crucible packed into a single Unit Training Assembly weekend. To make that compression work, they trimmed the fat by cutting academic briefings and narrowing the focus to highly targeted training — selecting only tasks evaluators could physically validate and basing readiness metrics on demonstrated capabilities rather than classroom review.

The concept was clear on paper; executing it would take more than the 32nd APS alone. By leaning on organic assets already within reach — such as the 911th Airlift Wing's own C-17s for travel to Dobbins Air Reserve Base (home of the Port Dawg Challenge) to utilize the existing equipment and scenarios found at Transportation Proficiency Center. Reserve Airmen slept in tents and received meals at Silver Flag — a Force Support Contingency Training location — keeping immersion high and costs low.

“We were engaged in a partnership with the Silver Flag compounds, and we're able to bring in our own 911th Force Support Squadron personnel to provide services and meals,” said Tringas. “Giving it the true contingency feeling and keep Airmen within that environment — in that mentality — the entire time we were down there.”

One Port Dawg, Tech. Sgt. Eric Swatson, 32nd APS joint inspections specialist, described the two-day exercise as immersive and, in a way, nostalgic — comparing it to his first deployment with the 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron in the United Arab Emirates, and to "Beast Week" during his now distant memory of basic training.

“It's work first, which is fun,” said Swatson. “I love being engaged. I love looking down and seeing that hours have passed and I don't even realize it. And it's volatile. Something can happen at the drop of a hat, and we need to pivot, we need to change course immediately.”

And that something could be as natural as Georgia’s July downpours or preplanned exercise injections — simulations instructors and inspectors devised to shake Aerial Porters out of the daily grind and into a deployment mindset. Several simulated attacks incorporated classic unexploded ordinance detection While Reserve Airmen operated in body armor, and eventually chemical gear. To add another level of realism, Steel Anvil tested the 32nd APS’ abilities to respond to fast moving attacks from small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUAS.

“One of the scenarios we faced was in the midst of our cargo processing, we experienced a potential attack,” said Swatson. “There was a drone that was headed towards us. So, you know, we had to shelter in place. We had to find what was called a hardened shelter — somewhere that could withstand an attack such as that.”

That kind of split-second uncertainty was the point, and for another Reserve Airman, the payoff wasn't the drone itself, but what it left behind.

For Tech. Sgt. Babita Thapa, 32nd APS special handling representative, the value of experiencing war time scenarios — with her boots on the ground instead of eyes on a projector screen — lies less in any single sUAS or IED, and more in the muscle memory they build.

“So far we have done two full inspections,” said Thapa. “One for a generator that was on a pallet and one for a 10K forklift. Then we found stuff that was hidden there for the scenario — a grenade, a land mine — so that was cool to find what they had hidden and make sure we did our job thoroughly. Now when we go back to base and deploy we can say, ‘I’ve done it before, I know exactly what to do and what to look for.’”

Back at Pittsburgh IAP ARS, she said, most of her training on joint inspections stays confined to the books rather than hands-on practice. Now, with more than just two practice reps from Steel Anvil, she intends to draw on this hands-on experience rather than memorized lines of text — music to the ears of instructors from the 622nd Civil Engineer Group’s Transportation Proficiency Center like Tech. Sgt. Joshua Yallery.

They had a vision," said Yallery. “We had the equipment and the people to provide it, and we just put those two things together. The more you practice, the more realistic you can make it. So I'm hoping that when they get downrange, they can take something that they learn here, even if it's one thing that helped the mission go smoother.”

As a previous Active-Duty Airman turned Reservist, Yallery said aerial porters face the same training challenges regardless of duty status. Most 2T2s (the specialty or job code for air transportation specialists) recieve standard training and regular channel missions, giving them a chance to perform many of their duties before deploying. But newer Airmen in the career field — those with only a year or two of experience in just one section — face a real possibility of getting tasked with a deployment before they are broadly proficient in each section.

Part of the training in Steel Anvil was placing Port Dawgs into sections unfamiliar to them, broadening their experience beyond their usual specialty. The exercise split aerial porters into seven categories based on trainable tasks: Air Terminal Operations Center, Ramp Services, Air Freight-Cargo, Passenger Services, Joint Inspection, Load Planning and Team Leads. Combined, these categories covered more than 60% of all tasks 2T2s require for training and evaluation. Within two days, the participating Port Dawgs were certified on all of them.

While Steel Anvil focused on the ability to execute large-scale deployment operations, the 32nd APS will shift focus to the micro-level during the winter months via exercise Steel Forge — zeroing in on individual and team-level proficiency on specific tasks. Together, Steel Anvil and Steel Forge will function as alternating parallel engines running on a recurring six-month cycle — driving Reserve aerial porters toward deeper technical proficiency.

"I think ultimately we hope Steel Anvil is just the beginning of a larger effort to present a better, more ready force to both Air Mobility Command and Air Transportation Command in the Reserve Command," said Tringas. "As the 32nd Aerial Port Squadron, we have to be ready to respond with people that are trained, proficient and capable of executing, because at that point there's no one else left to call.”