8th EAMS: “Where’s the waste gone?”

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

8th EAMS ATOC coordinates deploying cargo, passengers

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

7/12/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Moving cargo and personnel from location to location within the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility can be quite the feat, but for 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron Airmen in the air terminal operations center here, it's their "bread and butter."

"We have the most diverse mission sets transit through here every day," said Staff Sgt. John Hubicsak, an 8th EAMS ATOC information controller deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

On average, the ATOC handles more than 7,000 tons of cargo, 6,600 passengers with 250 tons of baggage and more than 725 aircraft each month making them the busiest mobility hub in the AOR.

"Coordination is our game," Hubicsak said. "We gather information about every aircraft's mission from the flight manifest as they make their way through here and disperse the pertinent information out to the work centers that need it."

ATOC is responsible for constantly monitoring airlift missions and providing updates to various agencies across 8th EAMS and the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing.

"We coordinate with 379th AEW agencies, handle aeromedical evacuation patients and ship a lot of blood to medical units in Afghanistan," said Hubicsak. "We support all the tankers and fighters coming through here with cargo and passengers of their own, as well as C-130 [Hercules] crews who hop in and out of the smaller forward operating bases in theater."

Hubicsak said not only is ATOC responsible for informing the "Mighty Ocho's" maintenance operations center of requirements, but also complete load planning as they organize the cargo for movement to tell load masters what to expect from the load.

"They're very helpful in providing us the information we need to know to accomplish our mission," said Airman 1st Class Brittany McGarrity, an 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III loadmaster deployed from Joint Base Charleston, S.C. "The technical data they provide is instrumentally important as we mathematically preplan the correct placement of the load on the airplane to ensure it can safely fly."

McGarrity added the information ATOC provides enables her and the cargo jet's aircrew to deliver the supplies, equipment and people to their destination so the joint warfighters down range have what they need to perform their duties, wherever they may be.

"What's most fulfilling for me is being so involved in something and knowing your decisions directly impact the quality of life for folks down range," said Hubicsak. "Our cargo provides deployed service members with things like power and fuel to keep air conditioners running in living quarters so they have a comfortable place to rest their head at night after hours in the sweltering heat of the desert."

But it's not just the forward deployed service member relying on these ATOC Airmen.

"I depend on these guys every day," said Master Sgt. Travis Crane, the 8th EAMS ATOC superintendent deployed from Joint Base Charleston, S.C. "I've only been here a month and the continuity and experience my guys provide the mission every day is phenomenal. Without them, we couldn't complete the mission as efficiently and flawlessly as we do it."

Units across the base, in some form or another, support the "Ocho's" vast mission set, but it's one office coordinating, talking, gathering and dispersing the information around to get the mission done.

"It's really gratifying that I can make so many different agencies come together to support the joint warfighter in the way we do it," Hubicsak said. "We're always forward thinking in order to save the Air Force time and money."

[Editor's note: This article is part two of an eight part series highlighting the unique missions accomplished by the Airmen of 8th EAMS.]

Flight safety informs pilots, maintainers of potential flying hazards

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs6/27/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Cruising at nearly 30,000 feet and traveling at speeds topping more than 500 mph with supplies intended for the joint-war fighter, a C-17 Globemaster III crew encounters another aircraft directly in their flight path.Events like this are easily avoided through proper planning, training and flight safety briefs."We, as aviators, all have the responsibility to be aware of potential conflicts and avoid them," said Maj. Ed Grier, the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Flight Safety chief deployed from Joint Base Charleston, S.C., and a C-17 pilot by trade.The wing's flight safety office conducts monthly flight safety briefs objectively poised to abate potential flight safety risks."Typically we brief local flying hazards, especially weather, and go over any mishap trends Air Force-wide," Grier said. "We then brief a mishap that can be educational to the crew force, for example, 'lessons learned.'"However, these flight safety briefings make up only half of flight safety's officer and NCO responsibilities."We're like the crime scene investigators of safety," Grier said. "If we have a mishap, we find out what caused the incident so the same thing doesn't happen to another crew and aircraft."Approximately 65 percent of all near mid-air collisions reported occur near airports, 15 percent on low-level training routes, and 10 percent in military operating areas, according to the Air Force Safety Center.Grier said flight safety collects incident data and forwards it on to the Air Force Safety Center for a complete investigation. Inquiries conducted locally include bird strikes and hazardous air traffic reports (mid-air collision avoidance). The office also monitors for wildlife hazards and coordinates dispersal if required.But as with most organizations in the military, a healthy mix of both officer and enlisted personnel is needed to effectively accomplish the mission."We have some of the best NCOs out there working for us and we couldn't do it without them," said Maj. Nicholas Barnes, a 379th AEW flight safety officer and C-40 pilot deployed from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. "Flight safety NCOs are maintainers by trade, so they know all the ins and outs of maintenance and can speak the language."Flight safety NCOs, Master Sgt. David Yost, a B-lB Lancer crew chief deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., and Tech. Sgt. Brandon Hopkins, an F-16 Fighting Falcon crew chief deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, said not only do they provide a sure line of communication between the maintainers and the pilots, but also between home station safety offices and the deployed flying units for mishap investigating and reporting."The reports we produce are used to prevent possible aviation mishaps both here at our deployed location and Air Force-wide," Hopkins said. "A hazard identified here on a single aircraft could impact many more fleet-wide. For example, if there is a problem with an aircraft component here, we would investigate and determine an appropriate recommendation to prevent recurrence."The recommendation, Hopkins continued, is then channeled to aircraft engineers and approved repair actions may be implemented to all other aircraft of the same model to prevent future mishaps.Individuals selected to fill the position should have, as a minimum, maintenance experience on a unit-assigned airframe with at least two years' experience as a 7-level. FSNCOs are primarily crew chiefs or flight engineers."Having knowledge of aircraft maintenance operations allows us to easily identify potential hazards on the flight line," Yost said. "We conduct inspections on the flight line as well as monitoring flight line maintenance and operations to ensure the safety of all 379th AEW personnel and aircraft."[Editor's note: This story is part three of a three-part series highlighting the three sections of wing safety.]

Avionics puts bombs on target, keeps Airmen safe

by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

6/7/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Combat search and rescue operations, supply drops to forward forces, calculated strategic bomb runs and an array of countless other missions around the world, would not be possible without the tireless efforts of avionics specialists deployed here to the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron."We are the avionics centralized repair facility for the entire area of responsibility," said Tech. Sgt. Andrew Falcon, the 379th EMXS avionics intermediate section production supervisor deployed here from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.Falcon and his crew are responsible for ensuring the avionics systems onboard F-15 Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and B-1B Lancers are ready to accomplish the mission day and night for every air base in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility."We don't take this mission lightly," said Senior Master Sgt. Gene Sing, the 379th EMXS avionics flight chief deployed here from Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. "Not only is our mission important but it also saves the Air Force money."By having the CRF at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, the Air Force is capable of fixing these systems that provide pilots with a necessary function for performing the mission."Avionics gives the Air Force the ability to locate, track and destroy targets through precision and accuracy," said Staff Sgt. Craig Lewis, a 379th EMXS B-1B avionics technician deployed here from Robins AFB, Ga. "Where in the past, like during World War II, we would drop a massive amount of bombs and hope they hit something."Lewis said avionics techs maintain many systems on an aircraft including guidance, communications, navigation, radar and surveillance. This ultimately prepares aircraft for low-altitude attack profiles, precision bombing, covert operations and reconnaissance missions."So we take care of much more than just the weapons systems," said Lewis. "We remove, install, check and repair avionics systems and line-replaceable units while performing and supervising alignment, calibration and bore sight of avionics systems using uploaded maintenance and operational software."Avionics can be found on every Air Force airframe service-wide, said Senior Airman Benjamin Wagner, a 379th EMXS B-1B avionics technician deployed here from Ellsworth AFB, S.D.Deployed avionics technicians do much of the same mission here as they do at home station."Same systems, same technical orders," Lewis said.But the great thing about being deployed, Sing said, is that it allows his Airmen a chance to work on other airframes rather than just being knowledgeable on the specific aircraft their home unit flies."It gives our Airmen an opportunity to expand their job knowledge and become more familiar with other aspects of our career field," said Sing. "It allows them to see the bigger picture."The 379th EMXS's AIS shop plays an integral role in keeping the Air Force's bombers, fighters and cargo planes ready to go whenever they're needed."If it flies and has avionics equipment, we can fix it," Wagner said.