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8th EAMS ramp services load “tons” of cargo
QA: 379th EMXG commander’s “eyes and ears”
Joint STARS: Flight deck enabling mission crews
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
7/17/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Deployed to the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility, 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron flight deck members flying the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System here get mission crews to the fight supporting U.S. and coalition ground forces.
"We are responsible for getting the weapon system to the fight so the mission crew can support our forces on the ground," said Maj. Eric Patton, a 7th EACCS aircraft commander. "Maintenance gets us started, the communications technicians load our mission data and we put the aircraft where combatant commanders have decided we can best support the war effort."
All personnel assigned to the Joint STARS are deployed from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., the U.S. military's only Joint STARS installation. The jet's flight deck consists of two pilots, a navigator and a flight engineer.
"It's an honor to take part and be involved in a platform that provides such vast capabilities to our ground forces in theater," said Capt. Jared Swindle, a 7th EACCS pilot. "The products our jet passes down to the guys on the ground keeps them safe as they go after the enemy."
And while it's a team effort across all the squadron's supporting agencies, Lt. Col. Claude Archambault, the 7th EACCS commander, said their mission is contingent on successfully working alongside their Air National Guard counterparts in a true total force integration unit.
"TFI -- that's the key," the colonel said. "The guard has been deploying for this mission since 2003 and they bring a host of continuity to our team. Since we train together at home, we're used to working together."
Flying one of the oldest airframes in the Air Force, Joint STARS flight deck members don't have a lot of the newer navigation and avionics technologies airframes like the C-17 Globemaster III have.
"You can manage everything on the jet from the pilot's seat on a C-17," Patton said. "But our jet requires a flight engineer as well. They're the aircraft's systems expert and manage the fuel and mission equipment panels."
"Flight engineers have a more intimate knowledge of the aircraft," added Maj. Scott Hazy, a 7th EACCS mission crew commander. "Because they know how to fix things they're like the crew chief on a race car making sure all systems are operating safely and efficiently."
But by the end of the day, it's all about the joint war effort and overall team dynamics.
"I believe it's the total team effort that equals success for us and the mission crew," Patton said. "When we have success, they [mission crew] have success, because we got the jet where the joint war fighter needed it."
[Editor's note: This article is part two of a three part series highlighting the E-8C Joint STARS deployed mission.]
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.]
Grand Slam Wing rocks July Fourth
Canadian controller works alongside American ABMs
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
7/10/2013 - 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."
8th EAMS: Deployed controllers delivering hope
by Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
7/5/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Mortar explosions rattle a forward operating base in Afghanistan and it's all service members hear as they rush for cover. Gradually, the dust settles and in the distance a fleeing U.S. convoy is spotted. The FOB's gates open just long enough for the crew to find safety in the base's heavily fortified walls. Moments later, bullets seem to spray from everywhere.A week earlier, ammunition, supplies, tools, food and water were airdropped by an 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron cargo jet. Equipped with these provisions, these service members have what they need to survive."Cargo is the life blood of down-range soldiers," said Tech. Sgt. David Young, the 8th EAMS Air Mobility Control Center flight chief deployed from Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England. "More than 50 percent of the [U.S. Central Command's area of operation] AOR's air drops originate from here, making what we do significantly important. We're not flying supplies to just the big, established bases; we also fly to the really forward deployed guys at FOBs way out in the middle of nowhere. The supplies we provide them are their lifeline."More commonly known as, "The Mighty Ocho," the 8th EAMS coordinates, loads and maintains the aircraft responsible for delivering these life-saving supplies to the joint war fighter down range."Air Mobility Command sends us cargo missions, and as the AOR's central hub, we coordinate when these jets will land, where they'll park, how the cargo will get to the aircraft and how its loaded, the fuel, the maintenance, aircrew rest -- all this we do to get a quick turn on the jet's mission and on its way to the folks who need it most," Young said."Our cargo missions really remind me of why we're here," added Staff Sgt. Ryan Metz, the 8th EAMS training NCO in charge deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. "It makes me feel like I'm part of something bigger than myself."In a section of five, working 24/7, 365 days a year, Young and his crew have at least two members on shift at any given time working as the "Ocho's" nervous system."Leadership puts down instructions on how they want to run things," explained Young. "We funnel that out to the 'body parts' -- such as maintenance and the air terminal operations center and they commence the mission and giving us feedback whether the mission went off fine or if it had problems along the way."AMCC Airmen then take that information and route it up to leadership who then decide how the processes can be improved so the mission runs smoother for next time."Our mission is really vital," Young said. There's a reason we haven't consolidated with the wing command post here, because AMC wants to have a specific command and control node monitoring all their missions, able to give them real-time feedback as it all plays out. That's where we come in."Contrary to home station operations, Young said there are a lot more on the fly changes in the deployed environment he just doesn't see back home. Between opportune cargo movements, aeromedical evacuation missions, dignified transfer and human remains missions that come up in the AOR, AMCC Airmen have their plates full."These things come up a lot more often than they would at home station -- so they [AMC] need someone to manage these changes on the fly and they do that through us," he said.Having their paws in every aspect of 8th EAMS's mission, it's not surprising to see why Young is so passionate about his job."Without the C2 [command and control] node, the unit loses their centralized execution of the mission," he said.Another way C2 supports joint warfighters down range is by saving the defense department money, especially during this time of budget cuts and sequestration."The way we can help, particularly, is to look for things where we can make the mission more efficient," Young said. "We can save on the small issues that would cause crews to exceed their crew duty day then the whole mission has to stop while they rest overnight. That 12-18 hours we lose there is significant."For service members down range, especially at some more rustic FOBs, this delay could mean the difference between winning and losing a firefight."If we can manipulate the mission based on our relationship with the different stations we work with and knowing their limitations, such as differing quiet hours, we can make sure we get them [cargo jets] out of here in a timely manner to hit their marks," said Young.The 8th EAMS moves most of their cargo by means of C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-5 Galaxys, but Young said they do make use of other airframes, including the KC-135 Stratotanker and personnel rotators."If a plane comes in here empty, it's not leaving here empty," he said chalking this feat up to his partner agencies within the "The Mighty Ocho," including the air terminal operations center, MOC, and several others.[Editor's note: The narrative story lead does not reflect actual events. This article is part one of an eight part series highlighting the unique missions accomplished by the Airmen of 8th EAMS.]