Photo By Dan DiPietro | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. William Dowd, from the 158th Fighter Wing, returns home to...... read more read more
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On October 19, the Vermont Air National Guard base flight line had some new signs – ones held up by little hands saying things like “We missed you Daddy” or “We love you Mommy” as a VTANG members returned from four months of overseas duty.
Roughly 150 Vermont Guardsmen performed routine flying missions at Kadena Air Base in Japan for six weeks before moving to Kunsan Air Base in South Korea for the remainder of the temporary duty. The Theater Security Package deployment is designed to provide the Pacific Command region with forces capable of a variety of operations, including disaster relief, global situational awareness, combating piracy, active defense and power projection.
Senior Master Sgt. Travis Leno, a flight chief who went on the TDY, described it as a time to expand Vermont Guardsmen’s relationships with active duty components, knowledge about different aircrafts and expand leadership roles.
“Within Theater Security Package,” he explained, “units come in, perform training missions, combine forces with active duty units and experience training missions with dissimilar aircraft in the airspace provided.”
The routine mission is filled by U.S. Air Force bases by rotation, giving thousands of Airmen the chance to forge ties with military counterparts while providing Asia-Pacific support in case of natural disasters and for security measures. An added benefit to the deployers is that they have the opportunity to perform tasks and missions that solidify aspects of their career fields not always possible at the home base.
For Airman 1st Class Merrill Allen who works on air conditions and oxygen systems, branching out military roles and responsibilities broadened her understanding of how her job synergizes with others. She also enjoyed working side by side with active duty Airmen, becoming familiar with how they operate.
Returning home she was greeted by a colorful sign with a heart saying, “Welcome home Merrill!” While standing in line to out-process, she spoke about her four-month tour of duty and being involved with unfamiliar cultures.
“I tried to do things the right way there,” she said. “I thought I would be so lost I wouldn’t be able to do anything right, but I learned that I have a good sense of culture ethics.”
As a 20-year-old who had never been any place more exotic than Canada, Allen said she learned a lot. Always carrying a Korean dictionary in her pocket, she made it a point to show an interest in the culture and to try to pronounce everybody’s name correctly.
Culture acclimation, according to Leno, is just as strong a piece of the training experience as working on the jets. He views deployments as multi-faceted gifts for leaders to use for intentionally developing Airmen, whether it’s to encourage cultural diversity or to mentorship.
He would know - he’s been in the military for more than two decades and for the past two years has been acting as “dad” in the crew chief room. While at the TSP he worked as a production superintendent, handing over the title of “dad” to two master sergeants in his group.
He said giving his senior non-commissioned officers an opportunity to experience a flight chief’s position with scheduling, personnel and looking after people’s trainings while he was there to offer guidance if needed was a golden opportunity.
During the TSP, VTANG members worked with F-15 pilots and crews where they learned about the strengths and needs of different aircrafts and their crews. This knowledge creates a stronger Air Force for when seamless integration is necessary for emergencies or peace-keeping missions.
But what really impressed him was the VTANG’s ability to respond when having to redeploy from Japan to South Korea.
“It’s something we train for and but rarely get the chance to practice,” he said. “So to do that – go to a location for a full six weeks – gear up, fly and operate for five days a week and then pack it all up and move to a second location to do it all over again was an incredibly useful event.”
For now, VTANG Airmen are focusing on sharing lessons learned from the TDY with members who did not deploy and reintegrating into normal day-to-day life. However, Leno said that the VTANG is always ready to pack up and fly the F-16s for whatever mission they may be asked to do.
| Date Taken: | 11.09.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.09.2015 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 181472 |
| Location: | SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT, US |
| Web Views: | 247 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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