‘Cowboys’ show what Marine Corps reservists can do

Photo By Sgt. Benjamin Pryer | Sgt. Scott L. Kupres, an aircraft navigation technician, left, and Cpl. Sean Mahoney, an avionics electrician, both with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112, perform maintenance on an F/A-18 while on the flightline aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Oct. 3, 2013. VMFA-112 is the first Unit Deployment Program squadron to Iwakuni to include reservists in more than a decade.  

IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

10.04.2013

Story by Lance Cpl. Benjamin Pryer 

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

IWAKUNI, Japan - Reservists - it’s a term that brings disdain to the thoughts of some active-duty Marines. For most whom harbor such negative feelings to the United States Marine Corps Reserve though, it is done so plainly on hearsay and stereotyping. For Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 112, “The Cowboys,” such thoughts couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“We can’t do our jobs without the reservists,” said Lt. Col. David Boland, VMFA-112 executive officer. “A regular squadron is structured with about 150 to 160 personnel. On a day-to-day basis, we are half of a regular squadron, but we still have 12 airplanes. We cannot do what a regular squadron does without our reservists.”

Boland also mentioned that one of the major factors reservists play into, as far as sustaining the F-18 squadron, comes from the maintenance side.

“One of the biggest things is that we can’t do two maintenance shifts,” said Boland. “Non-mobilized, we don’t have the personnel on a day-to-day basis to do two-shift maintenance. We need the reserve manpower and reserve skills to operate a fully-functional F-18 squadron with all the mission sets and assignments we’re supposed to do. We can’t do it without our reservists, it’s impossible.”

While it may seem odd to personnel who have never associated with a squadron like VMFA-112, being molded around the idea of having reservists is far from a hindrance.

“On a day-to-day basis, back in Ft. Worth, (Texas), non-mobilized, we have about 65 maintainers, and another half a dozen enlisted folks that do stuff around the squadron and our four active-duty officers, that’s it,” said Boland. “When drill weekend hits, you walk out on the flight line and go, ‘Wow! Where did all these people come from?’” We swell to almost over 200 during the weekend. That is part of our (Table of Organization), we’ve always been structured to have an active component and a reserve component.”

Since the Cowboys only get several weekends annually to spend time as a complete unit, participating in the Unit Deployment Program to Iwakuni while mobilized provides the squadron ample time to foster camaraderie.

“When we mobilize like this, we come together as a unit,” said Master Sgt. Christopher Wine, avionics chief with VMFA-112. “One of the great benefits of this training is unit cohesion and an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. The entire squadron now comes together as a single-functioning, well-integrated machine. Sometimes, the reserves aren’t as well integrated on weekends as we would hope, for various reasons, but this obviates a lot of those things.”

Whether a reservist or active duty member, the expectation of a Marine is to always be ready for the call of the nation, the senior leaders of VMFA-112 strive to do all they can to ensure the readiness of their Marines at all times.

“The more ready we are as a reserve unit, the more ready we’re going to be when the time comes for us to deploy or for us to project our strategic power down range,” said Wine.

No matter the situation though, Wine said he enjoys the opportunity to mentor and teach his Marines.

“Any time you can pass on anything you’ve learned in your career to your Marines is rewarding,” said Wine. “Since I got here in February, it’s been one of the most rewarding times in my career because here, you’re always engaged, you’re always training, always observing and seeing growth occur. To me, that’s one of the greatest things. Once you get to this point in your career, you’re no longer doing things for yourself, you’re doing things to see what you can pass on to make the organization better, so when it is time for you to step away, hopefully you made an impact on those around you.”

For a squadron like VMFA-112, who routinely execute their daily mission around servicemembers of a mixed duty status, it falls to the senior leaders to provide a work environment that harbors no malicious intent to any Marine, active or reserve.

“I don’t look at anybody in this squadron as if they were a reservist or active duty, they’re my Marines, it’s my duty to train them the same,” said Wine. “When asked the question, ‘what do you think of your reservists?’ it’s hard to answer that because I don’t look at them that way.”

For Cpl. Sean Mahoney, an aviation electrician with VMFA-112, the UDP and mobilization experience has been something he said he’s truly enjoyed.

“I went from running a tire shop to this,” said Mahoney. “I’m used to working at my own pace. Here, you have a flight schedule to keep up with, you have a mission you have to do – there are time restrictions on everything and if something goes down, it has to get fixed. I went from being able to take all the time I wanted with my work, to now it’s rush, rush, rush, 24/7 – I like it.”

Mahoney mentioned how his deployment to Iwakuni has helped him and other Marines in his unit who may not get to practice their Military Occupational Specialty Skills too often.

“For most of us reservists, we don’t get a lot of experience coming in just once a month,” said Mahoney. “We’re normally doing paperwork or (physical health assessments), mainly just keeping up with our medical records or trying to get our qualifications. Being here every day, it’s been repetition, repetition, repetition and I’ve been learning a lot.”

Even though the reserve Marines with VMFA-112 may not spend as much time in uniform as their active duty counterparts, according to Sgt. Eric Sarles, a communication technician with VMFA-112, their work hasn’t degraded because of it.

“These guys go from having civilian jobs and regular, daily lives, yet can still maintain better than most squadrons I’ve seen,” said Sarles. “I used to have a bad taste in my mouth for the reserves, but after watching how these guys work, I’m glad to be around them.”

• Date Taken: 10.04.2013
• Date Posted: 10.08.2013 01:40
• Story ID: 114884
• Location: IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP