“Let’s Go!” is the motto for the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.

These Airmen will be on the go in 2023 with many mission sets centered around Agile Combat Employment and field training according to the group’s Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Anthony Butler.

“The Air Force is changing the way we fight with the goal to address our near-peer adversaries, like China and Russia,” said Butler. “Establishing smaller footprints and being able to move with speed and agility are key.”

This is where the ACE concept comes in.

According to the Department of the Air Force, “ACE is a proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase survivability while generating combat power. When applied correctly, ACE complicates the enemy’s targeting process, creates political and operational dilemmas for the enemy, and creates flexibility for friendly forces.”

“While we are mobile in nature, operational changes are driving a need for us to rapidly adapt how we train,” said Butler. “With the dispersed nature of ACE operations, 5th CCG members are focused on deploying readily accessible small form factor communications capabilities with resilient connections that provide assured command and control in contested environments.”

“This is driving 5th CCG technicians to be well versed on a multitude of communication disciplines,” he continued. “Whether they are leveraging high bandwidth satellite communications or carrier pigeons, members of the group must be ready to improvise when needed and deliver or receive secure information by any means necessary.”

The 5th CCG  is a specialized unit of the Air Force that’s been at Robins since July 1, 1964. It’s also referred to as 5th MOB, a name which refers to the group’s previous designation as the 5th Mobile Communications Group.

The unit continues to evolve.

The 5th CCG is now composed of four active duty squadrons: the 5th Combat Communications Support Squadron, 51st and 52nd Combat Communications mission squadrons and the recent addition of the 85th Engineering Installation Squadron, which is based at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi.

He said the 85th EIS is the group's most deployed unit, which travels globally in primary support of installation and sustainment of enduring telecommunication infrastructure.