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SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Airmen 1st Class Ali Saffarini and Jeremiah Gordiano (standing) work together to input an event during a recent night-shift turnover. They are 380th Air Expeditionary Wing command post controllers, and are a vital link in the flow of information to the wing commander from base agencies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Leonhard)
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Command post: commander's eyes, ears
Posted 2/14/2006
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by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Leonhard
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
2/14/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing’s command post Airmen have one of the most important areas in the area of responsibility to track. With four controllers and a superintendent covering around-the-clock operations this group is ready for anything.
“We are the nerve center for the base in this war environment,” said Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Howell, command post superintendent. “And we all understand our work can have a big effect on the mission here.”
That mission impact was evident to first-time deployer Staff Sgt. Lynn Brown the moment he arrived.
“There is a definite adjustment we must go through quickly when we enter into this up-paced operations tempo,” said Sergeant Brown, a console controller. “So we rely on all the units to pass the information to us so we can have the answers to the questions the leadership will have about any given event.”
One of the toughest tasks for the controllers is being the main link to decipher information for leaders to run the base, Sergeant Howell said.
“We are looking at airmen first class and junior (noncommissioned officers) who are getting on the phone at anytime to speak directly with the wing commander,” he said. “That’s a big task when you consider a few years ago the same responsibility was carried by a command post officer.
“So the pressure for a young troop to brief colonels or even generals and to have the answers to the questions he or she may have can be challenging,” explained Sergeant Howell. “Not to mention it has to be timely, accurate, detailed, but brief.”
That pressure makes it difficult for the Air Force to retain some young controllers.
“I’ve seen only three senior NCOs in this career field with 20 years of experience,” he said. “So imagine a young Airman having to answer to the commander without that base core knowledge that a seasoned controller would have.”
Here the controllers get a good taste of that seasoning by adding 24-hour operations on top of multiple types of aircraft, regulations and host country policies.
“We have to stay vigilant and follow our checklist to the ‘T,’” said Airman 1st Class Ali Saffarini, a command post controller.
“This office and the phones are constantly in use, whether it’s keeping track of wing and transient aircraft; in-flight emergencies; vehicle ops on the flightline and taxiways; Force Protection Condition updates; medical response coordination and weather advisories,” Airman Saffarini said.
They have every kind of phone and radio any electronic junkie would enjoy playing with, but for these Airmen, it’s all about the war efforts, staying ever vigilant and being the eyes and ears of the commander.
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