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    Nebraska Air National Guard small air terminal, services personnel train at Transportation Proficiency Center, Dobbins Air Reserve Base

    DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, GA, UNITED STATES

    07.22.2014

    Story by Staff Sgt. Mary Thach 

    155th Air Refueling Wing, Nebraska Air National Guard

    DOBBINS ARB, Ga. – The Nebraska Air National Guard’s 155th Air Refueling Wing sent 18 air transportation small air terminal members and four members of the 155th Sustainment Services Flight on a four-day proficiency training mission at the Transportation Proficiency Center at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, July 11-14.

    The 155th ARW sends small air terminal members to Dobbins ARB bi-annually for re-certification and familiarization of all equipment and job functions. In addition to the air terminal Airmen, services personnel were given the opportunity to practice their own jobs by setting up a mobile kitchen and preparing several meals over the course of the weekend.

    “We take the whole air transportation section every two years on this fly-away program to get them proficiency trained,” said Master Sgt. Adam Dytrych, air transportation small air terminal section chief.

    Dytrych said air transportation personnel were able to perform proficiency training on everything that the career field consists of, including air terminal and cargo operations, special handling, ramp operations, and passenger services.

    The 155th ARW started training at the TPC four years ago and has developed a strong bond with the Georgia Air Force Reserve unit. Dytrch, although he’s tried to spread the word, said there are not many of Guard units that train at TPC, while many are unaware they can.

    “They have the toys. They have static aircrafts: static C-5 and static C-130,” said Dytrych. “We can afford to make mistakes down here without affecting a real mission. So we practice. There is no other place that you can go where you can learn your job and be in an atmosphere where you can make a mistake. They learn here so they can operate safely and effectively out in the field.”

    According to Senior Master Sgt. Mark Farrington, a TPC aerial port instructor, the Nebraska Air National Guardsmen were impressive.

    “The unit flew in from Nebraska, hit the ground, and assumed possession of all of our assets,” said Farrington. “Our vehicles, offices, computers, and they set it up as if they came to a base and assumed responsibility for all aircraft arriving and leaving this destination.”

    Farrington said annual training at a hands-on facility, such as TPC with static airframes and large-grade vehicles that would be used during a deployment, is vital to a small air terminal Airmen’s career.
    “Being Guardsmen or Reservist, you do it part-time, so you lose a lot of your edge by only doing it on occasion,” said Farrington. “(This training) helps shake the rust off the experience. It gives the leadership an opportunity to lead, to learn from it and to mentor the younger troops … It’s important for the overall process for the war or humanitarian effort.”

    That’s particularly important considering that air transportation personnel handle all of the logistics of moving equipment and on-loading and off-loading cargo and passengers. Without logistics, people and equipment cannot get where the mission requires them to be, said Farrington.

    According to Master Sgt. Jarrod Tisthammer, 155th ARW air transportation superintendent, the team trains two weeks annually at an active duty air base; however, the Georgia training is crucial to the Airmen’s ability to prepare. “The difference here is at this station is we can actually tailor the training to whatever we need.”

    “When we do our two-week training at an active duty base, we may not get the training we are actually looking for,” said Tisthammer. “It is going to be whatever the mission dictates, because it will be an actual real-world mission. But at TPC, if we have folks that need certain tasks done, we can specifically get them into a role that would accomplish that task. The benefit here is we can get the training that we want and need, therefore, providing a more well-rounded Airman.”

    Dytrych said without annual tours to active duty bases or a fly-away training program, the Airmen in his shop could not be proficient in their jobs. That in turn means if they are called upon to deploy, they may not be ready to perform their part of the mission.

    Dytrych added it is crucial that the Airmen are well practiced and build their confidence operating equipment and all job functions while they are at TPC. Once deployed, Airmen rely on the knowledge they gained at TPC.

    “It gives them confidence,” said Dytrych. “These guys know their job, but doing it on a month-to-month basis, they forget it. They lose proficiency quickly, so we come to TPC. We have a lot of smart people in this career field. They know their job, regulations, and how to do their job, but it takes repetition to gain confidence in doing the job. That’s where this training comes into play.”

    Because the 155th ARW’s aircraft is a KC-135R Stratotanker, the primary mission is aerial refueling, while the secondary mission is transporting personnel and cargo. When deployed, however, air transportation personnel work with other airframes in addition to large machinery and vehicles that the Nebraska Air Guard does not use. So, it’s critical to train on the equipment offered at TPC.

    “The main focus here is to get the troops trained on the things that we do not do regularly at our base, or the things that we do not have the capacity to do because we don’t have the airframes, we don’t have the equipment,” said Tisthammer. “This facility provides us with a lot of tools that we can provide our Airmen to gain proficiency on the tasks that we can’t do at home station.”

    The 155th Sustainment Services Flight members deployed with three Airmen in up-grade training. They prepared numerous meals throughout the weekend and focused on some of their own training tasks.

    “We are serving the food for the training crew that we came with,” said Tech. Sgt. Rusty Zortman, the services noncommissioned officer-in-charge. “We do breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

    Zortman said they occasionally provided Meals-Ready to Eat for lunch and often used Unit Group Rations for dinner.

    The goal of the services personnel was to focus on field training and help support the air transportation Airmen. He said it was important for the younger Airmen in services to see additional missions the Sustainment Services Flight is responsible for while at TPC.

    “They get to see what we do for a mission when we actually travel,” said Zortman. “When we are at (our) base we do a lot with food. When we are here, we touch base with our recreation teams, our fitness teams, and our mortuary teams. We get to see a little bit of that stuff at our base, but when we travel we get to do more.”

    Zortman said he was pleased with how his Airmen-in-training performed.

    “They act like veterans. I don’t even have to come in and manage all that much,” said Zortman. “They know exactly what they need to do and how to get it done. All the paperwork gets done by them, so I don’t even have to do that. It’s really nice and good to see them come here and run it like they have been here before.”

    Farrington complimented the Nebraska National Guard on their professionalism on- and off-duty and their eagerness to learn.

    “This is one of my favorite units. They always come down here with a good attitude,” said Farrington. “I have had many of these students here for load planning, joint inspection courses, or even the tunner (aircraft loader) course. They are always open and receptive. Your technicians are very bright and they are good leaders. I enjoy this group very much.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 07.22.2014
    Date Posted: 07.25.2014 10:27
    Story ID: 137282
    Location: DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, GA, US

    Web Views: 136
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN