Photo By 1st Sgt. Jessica Barnett | Chief Warrant Officer 2 Yolanda Manning-Joyce, mobility officer, 103rd Sustainment...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— Soldiers coming in and out of Logistics Support Area Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, usually have a one-track mind to get from one place to another. Most come through here while traveling on Rest and Recuperation Leave. To make sure things go as smoothly as possible, units have a liaison officer stationed on the base to help fix any problems.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Yolanda Manning-Joyce, mobility officer with the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Nashville, Tenn., native, is the Iraq cell liaison officer for the 103rd ESC and the organizational units that fall under its command.
“We process soldiers that are redeploying through LSA Ali Al Salem for R and R, emergency leave or as individual redeployers,” said Manning-Joyce. “A soldier will show up here at tent 2 with their paperwork, TCS (Temporary Change of Station) orders, DCS (Deployment Cycle Support) check list, and a letter of release. If they don’t have either of those things, we will contact the unit they came from to get the information needed to process them out. I then make them a packet of paperwork needed to be manifested for a Freedom Flight or space-available [flight].”
Depending on a soldier’s situation, such as traveling with a weapon, he or she may have to wait for a dedicated Freedom Flight versus traveling first space-available which is any day of the week.
In the large scheme of the drawdown, Manning-Joyce helps facilitate direct unit flights for incoming units so that they don’t try and get all their soldiers on one flight through space-available, which can be difficult. With a Unit Line Number flight, units are able to fly directly to their duty station within Iraq.
Now that this stage of the drawdown is complete, soldiers can expect more changes to be implemented.
“Based on the drawdown, the number of people redeploying through Dallas or going to R and R through Dallas has dropped,” said Manning-Joyce. “Beginning Oct. 1, there is going to be a dedicated flight that will combine Dallas and Atlanta passengers. So there will be one flight that will hold 340 soldiers.”
With the number of incoming replacement units becoming less than the number of soldiers leaving theater, much of the work in the Iraq cell has been dealing with the influx of returning R and R soldiers.
Manning-Joyce is charged with handling distinguished visitors, sergeant major or colonel and above. She troubleshoots their travel and has their information sent ahead so that by the time they get to Kuwait, all their billeting and paperwork is completed, allowing them to continue to their next destination in the shortest waiting time possible.
Most importantly, Manning-Joyce informs higher-ups in Balad of the whereabouts of their soldiers while in transition.
| Date Taken: | 09.22.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2010 07:43 |
| Story ID: | 58727 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 175 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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