PERSCO team supports BAF Airmen

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Cierra Presentado | U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Tyler Kephart, 455th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Personnel Support for Contingency Operations deliberate crisis action planning executions segments operator, looks through PERSCO records Aug. 3, 2015, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. The PERSCO team is responsible for keeping accountability for all Air Force personnel at BAF and surrounding FOBs in the AOR. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado/Released)  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.04.2015

Story by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado 

455th Air Expeditionary Wing   

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Airmen coming to or transiting Bagram Airfield come to rely on the 455th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Personnel Support for Contingency Operations team to assist them with their in-processing, deployment and redeployment and onward movement needs.

PERSCO is responsible for keeping accountability of all Air Force personnel coming to Bagram, as well as Airmen being forwarded to other bases in the AOR. From the time they arrive at BAF until they redeploy back to home station, PERSCO manages all movements occurring here.

“Every FOB that falls under Bagram, like Jalalabad or Kabul, we keep account of those Airmen. Or if we have someone going TDY or temporary leave, my team manages all their movements,” said Senior Airman Tyler Kephart, 455th EFSS PERSCO deliberate crisis action planning executions segments operator. “We’re pretty much the mother of everyone around us; no one gets here or leaves here without us.”

Being in a deployed location, the PERSCO team performs differently here. Back at home station, the team works through the Military Personnel Flight. Here they are focused on combat related situations.

“Because we are in the AOR, we do very little personnel stuff. Specific things like decorations and re-enlistments we will do, but for other issues, the member will have to reach back to their home station or wait until they re-deploy,” Kephart said. “Our job here is really deployment specific.”

Upon deployment to Bagram, the PERSCO team briefs newcomers on Combat Orientation, which is geared towards familiarizing Airmen on Bagram, what to expect, what to look out for and what the mission is.

Once Airmen reach their last few weeks in the AOR, the team will brief them to make sure BAF Airmen continue to stay on the right track in preparation for re-deployment.

“We do more than the basic in-processing; we also brief programs for all Airmen. It helps folks out during their time here, whether they just got here or are about to leave,” he said. “These programs are mandatory functions for all our deployers.”

The PERSCO team’s mission here is extremely crucial to the Bagram mission. Without them here to perform accountability of all the Airmen of BAF and surrounding FOBs, it would be impossible to complete the mission.

“Our presence here is pretty important…no PERSCO, no accountability. We make sure we know where you are at all times, so your family members and home stations know where you are,” Kephart said. “My team is awesome to work with, we work together to get the mission done.”

• Date Taken: 08.04.2015
• Date Posted: 08.04.2015 07:24
• Story ID: 172065
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF
• Hometown: OSCEOLA MILLS, PA, US