Combat zone command post controllers are 'critical link' in deployed wing ops

Photo By Master Sgt. Jenifer Calhoun | Senior Airman Casey Mahan, command post journeyman for the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post, works in her office at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia, Feb. 3. Mahan is deployed from the 90th Missile Wing Command Post at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and her hometown is Perryville,Ark.  

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

02.24.2010

Story by Senior Airman Jenifer Calhoun 

380th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- In the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post, five Airmen manage a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week mission supporting the only wing in U.S. Central Command with KC-10 Extender, U-2 Dragonlady, E-3 Sentry and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft.

"We are that critical link in managing information for our wing," said Master Sgt. Paul LaFleur, command post chief deployed from the 507th Air Refueling Wing at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla. "For example, at any time throughout the day for flightline operations, our command post coordinates between the air traffic control tower, base operations, maintenance operations control, squadron operations, transient alert and transportation. That's just the tip of the spear in our communications support effort."

All of the deployed controllers come from across the Air Force. Day-to-day, 380th AEW command post controllers follow aircraft flights, coordinate emergency actions with base agencies, carry forward procedures and directives from higher headquarters and interface with wing leadership as a trusted agent on reporting issues.

"The whole purpose of our career field is managing information flow," said LaFleur, a 14-year Air Force veteran whose hometown is Southfield, Mich. "While information exists in many forms, in any given situation it is often disconnected and flying past the people who need it. The command post serves as the receptor and filter for all this information and the controller utilizes their training and expertise to get the data to right people."

LeFleur said an experienced controller over time develops a "keen controller judgment" which is "utilized in the decision making process to identify the information that is the most time sensitive, has the greatest impact or may cause harm if not addressed."

"This is especially important in a deployed environment because everything we do here has a direct impact on our fellow military members out in the field fighting the war," he said. "How quickly and effectively we relay the information may be the difference between a successful mission and complete failure."

Tech. Sgt. Wendy Hood, command post craftsman deployed from the 75th Air Base Wing Command Post at Hill AFB, Utah, said the command post, in many ways, serves as a "heartbeat" of information relay for her deployed base and someone is always on hand to tackle any issue or request that radioed, phoned or otherwise electronically sent in.

"I believe our best days are when we are a part of a major response," said Hood, whose hometown is Hooksett, N.H. "When you work somewhere that is the main information focal point for the wing commander and everyone else on base, and you are responding and relaying information during some event that needs fast coordination, you realize the impact of what your work has every day."

"In an instant, if a call comes in, we can go from quiet operations to a non-stop crisis response," added Staff Sgt. Tiffany Hipple, a command post craftsman deployed from Air Force Material Command's Command Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. "But that's why we are here -- to be that focal point when things have to get coordinated and a response is needed."

Hipple, whose hometown is Williamsburg, Va., described her deployed duties as a command post controller. "Here, in our deployed command post, I get to coordinate with emergency responders if a situation arises and we regularly talk with wing leadership on a variety of matters," she said. "Every day, we talk with pilots who are out flying combat missions, with security forces and firefighters and with maintenance Airmen who orchestrate a ballet of activity on the flightline."

Senior Airman Cindy Rafferty, a command post journeyman deployed from the 355th Fighter Wing Command Post at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., is on her first deployment and said she is more than happy to be working in a combat zone.

"I volunteered to come on this deployment," she said. "It helped so someone else could stay back and take care of things. This may be my first deployment, but it's been a good experience so far. We have an important job getting the information where it needs to go when it needs to be there. I like being at the heartbeat of that effort."

Each of the command post Airmen said they are proud to work in a wing that supports operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. In particular, Senior Airman Casey Mahan, command post journeyman, said she takes "great pride" in directly supporting the deployed mission.

"Sometimes it's easy to think we have a thankless job, and then I turn around and think about who we interact with and how we help the mission flow every day," said Airman Casey, who is deployed from the 90th Missile Wing Command Post at F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. "We're here, we're ready every day, and our support for the warfighter provides the motivation to do our best all the time."

The 380th AEW is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, surveillance and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia.

• Date Taken: 02.24.2010
• Date Posted: 02.24.2010 01:12
• Story ID: 45766
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)