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Welcome to my blog, where I share family devotions, short novellas, discuss book quotes, or share excerpts from my latest journalistic reporting. I find that faith and literature inspires and guides me on my journey of growth and self-discovery. Join me as we explore the power of books together.
Canadian controller works alongside American ABMs
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs7/10/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The cool breeze gently lifts a bright red maple leaf off the ground whipping it into the air during an autumn soccer scrimmage in Ontario, Canada ... wait a second, rewind. The hot desert wind whips and whirls the sand in every direction as Canadians battle their way from work to home during their deployment at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing here, a rotation that occurs every six months.While this scenario may seem extreme to some, it's an opportunity many Canadian controllers can't wait to be a part of. As there are few deployments they can be a part of, Capt. Alexandre Brault jumped at the chance to come here."As a controller, I don't deploy very often," the 25-year-old French Canadian said, who joined the military at 17 years old, right out of high school. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I knew I had to be here. It's been an amazing experience for me."Brault is the Royal Canadian Air Force 71st Expeditionary Air Control Squadron weapons director deployed from Bagotville, Quebec. The Canadians are currently six-strong here and expect up to eight by the fall."We may be a small force, but we're a strong force," she said.In her position, she oversees what the U.S. Air Force calls air battle managers who directly support Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan."As an ABM, I control intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, aerial refuelers, as well as several different fixed wing airframes all across the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility," Brault said. "We are basically a tactical command and control agency and we help dedicate various air assets to the joint warfighter in order to support our troops and the overall missions in Afghanistan."ABMs are primarily responsible for command and control and battle management. Their primary duty is to ensure the day-to-day air mission is executed. These duties depend on the overall military operation. For air-to-air engagement, using either airborne or land-based radars, ABMs ensure combat aircraft find, identify and destroy their targets by providing the pilots with a "big picture" that increases their situational awareness."We do air-to-air engagements back home, however, in this theater of operations we perform air-to-ground operations more than anything," she said.Brault said working here has been a great challenge for her, but she's proud of how the Canadians have contributed to the mission. While having other Canadians around was nice, Brault also enjoyed engaging with the Americans."It's been fun working alongside my brothers and sisters from the 'South,'" she said with a smile. "We work closely with the Americans in NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] back home, so while this was a different mission and a different environment, I loved every bit of it."But it wasn't all business for this controller, as Brault made sure to experience what the local culture had to offer her."My favorite experience here overall was the culture," she said. "It was definitely a shock at first, but the smells and the atmosphere -- they're like nothing I've ever seen or felt before. I love going off base and exploring."During her tenure at the 379th AEW, Brault was reminded why she signed up to serve in the first place."I knew I was going to a university for higher education as a soccer player, but didn't even think about the military as an option at the time," she said.Her first run-in with the military as a career path was when a soccer coach from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, visited a soccer tournament her team was attending. The RMC is to Canadians as the U.S. Air Force Academy or the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is to Americans."They offered me an education and in return, I was to serve my country," she said. "So it was a win-win. I decided it would be a great way to give back to Canada and get an education along the way."More than eight years later, the first in her family to serve, she's still here and isn't looking in the rear view."If I could go back, I wouldn't change a thing."
Weather warns warriors, saves services silver
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
6/25/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- As the dust clouds roll in, 379th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather forecasters here analyze the intensity, direction and impact of the impending storm to base assets and the mission.
"Our radar allows us to notify maintenance crews out on the airfield that conditions are unsafe and allow them to take protective shelter from damaging hail and winds," said Senior Master Sgt. Scott Butler, the 379th EOSS weather flight chief deployed from Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. "[The radar] is extremely vital to our operations; in the event of a significant dust storm we'd be able to pick that dust up on this system, tell you exactly what the wind speeds are and how long before it hits the 379th [Air Expeditionary Wing] so we can in turn prep the base for emergency response."
Air Force weather forecasters analyze weather conditions, prepare forecasts, issue weather warnings and brief weather information to pilots by means of two duty sets: airfield and mission.
"With airfield, we monitor the 379th and what's going on over us," said Senior Airman Alicia Freedman, a 379th EOSS weather forecaster deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La. "We issue weather watches, warnings and advisories, not to mention all the diverts for the base."
Freedman said the mission duty set includes the forecasting for operations.
"This is significantly important for the 379th's mission," she said. "We have several missions taking off daily and we have to make sure those pilots know what is going on weather-wise and make it to their destinations safely without any harm. If pilots don't know what their limitations are, what they encounter out there could be exceptionally fatal."
All this forecasting would not be possible, however, without weather's portable Doppler radar and their airfield sensor.
"Our portable Doppler radar serves an extremely important function as our key tool for reading and understanding the severity of thunderstorms," Freedman said. "We get the timing for when the thunderstorm will be in a specific location so we'll know where it may hit. We then forward this information up to the different wings, missions and flights so they can make an informed decision protecting base assets and personnel."
"Just last week we had a small pattern pushing more than 40 mph for five to six days straight," she added. "These were advisory level winds that potentially impact whether or not an aircrew can fly."
Freedman, Butler and more than 700 weather forecasters across the Air Force, read and interpret weather satellite imagery, climatology reports, computerized weather prediction models and Doppler weather radar imagery; operate a weather radar console and a high-frequency pilot-to-metro radio; analyze and forecast weather elements such as clouds, visibility, winds, atmospheric pressure and many other parameters.
"Our portable Doppler radar uses Next-Generation Radar, or NEXRAD, technology," said Butler. "We can tell you the intensity of the rain showers and their range with exactly where that shower is occurring."
During the thunderstorm months, Butler said his weather forecasters are able to find where the thunderstorms are, determine their direction, how strong they are and whether or not they'll be able to affect the 379th AEW's assets.
"Cost savings comes down to the amount of money we save with the resource protection," Butler said. "This radar increases resource protection for more than $68 billion in base assets not to mention personnel."
The 379th EOSS's weather flight is manned by eight active duty Airmen 24/7.
"We come from bases all throughout the world," he said. "We integrate as one team to provide resource protection and exploit the weather for battle."
Air Force Weather traces its heritage to two centuries of American military weather service. U.S. Army surgeons began recording weather observations regularly in the early 1800s as part of the Army's medical studies.
Today, weather Airmen deliver the highest-quality tailored weather and space environment information, products and services to the Nation's combat forces, anytime, anywhere.
Ground: Putting the “S” in safety
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs6/20/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- "Mission first, safety always," said Master Sgt. Michael Asdel as he explained the meaning of the phrase coined by wing safety professionals Air Force-wide."In the same way, I am an Airman first and a safety professional always," he said. "Safety is everyone's responsibility -- we're just here to make sure everyone is following the safety guidelines as trusted counselors to wing and installation leaders."Asdel is a 379th Air Expeditionary Wing safety technician deployed here from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., who works hand-in-hand with the installation's weapons safety section. Contrary to the other two sections in safety, weapons and flight, ground is an actual Air Force specialty. This fact sets them apart from the other two safety sections."Going to safety school really opens your eyes to a new world and way of looking at things," he said. "It's a whole new experience. As an Airman we have to be safety conscious, but as safety technicians, we are here to ensure supervisors are doing what they need to do to be safety conscious themselves."Ground safety personnel responsibilities include the training of managers, supervisors and employees to identify, evaluate and control workplace hazards and ensure mishaps are investigated and reported. The ground safety program includes operational, occupational, off-duty and traffic safety concerns. These concepts are taught to each unit safety representative, who are the eyes and ears of the wing's safety office and essential to safe completion of the wing's mission."No one knows their work centers better than the individuals who work in them," Asdel said. "Our office is here to help and provide the knowledge and guidance necessary so everyone goes home safe."Asdel said he's been very happy with how concerned units are here with safety."Since I put boots on the ground in April, I've seen no signs of complacency or deviation on safety matters," he said. "I'm particularly proud of the civil engineers and maintainers with their 'lock-out, tag-out' program in place to control hazardous materials around the installation."Ground safety conducts annual inspections of all units on base, while their ground unit safety representatives carry out monthly spot inspections, disseminate safety educational materials and verify unit safety briefings are being conducted."These USR's are an instrumental component to the success of the safety program," said Asdel. "We couldn't do what we do without their assistance. With no annual or monthly inspections -- safety could be put on the backburner and service members could get hurt. So you can see why what we do here is very important."Ground safety also maintains strong partnerships with other agencies across the base."Our primary partners include bioenvironmental engineering, the fire department and public health," said Tech. Sgt. Joel Barnett, a 379th AEW ground safety technician deployed from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. "These agencies help us to mitigate and abate hazards."As with most functions in the military, the mission isn't a success without the combined efforts of multiple agencies. Jets require maintainers to keep them serviceable, but can't fly without pilots. Service members can't perform at their best without water, food and lodging. Without safety, the risk for injury and possibly death could skyrocket."It's a team effort," added Asdel. "It takes every Airman, all the way from airman basic to the wing commander to keep ourselves and our wingmen safe. Mishaps are going to happen, we know this, but it's our job to educate and prevent them as best we can."[Editor's note: This story is part two of a three-part series highlighting the three sections of wing safety.]