Photo By Heather Heiney | A C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft is toured by Gulf Coast civic leaders during a 403rd Wing...... read more read more
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KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. — The 403rd Wing’s WC-130J Super Hercules aircraft may look like a giant sweeping across the Gulf Coast skies, but when it parked at Joint Base San Antonio yesterday it was dwarfed by the 433rd Airlift Wing’s C-5M Super Galaxy.
The C-130J was carrying a group of civic leaders from across the Gulf Coast for a two-day tour of JBSA.
“We host civic leader tours to give local community leaders an opportunity to better understand what we do as a Total Force and it allows them to see what’s happening behind the gate. It also allows us to thank them for their support,” Col. Michael Manion, 403rd Wing commander said. “They’re then going to take that information back and share it with other leaders in the community, spreading awareness and benefiting Team Keesler in the long run.”
When they stepped off the plane onto the flight line the 149th Fighter Wing’s F-16 Fighting Falcon looked even smaller in the lineup. But dwarfing other aircraft is easy to do for the C-5, being the largest aircraft in the Air Force and the second-largest in the world.
During the tour, participants had the opportunity to witness the Total Force first-hand. The 403rd and 433rd are both part of the Air Force Reserve while the 149th falls under the Texas Air National Guard.
The trip began with 403rd Wing and 81st Training Wing mission briefings that explained not only what the wings do, but how they work together. Later that afternoon, attendees toured the different aircraft and learned their capabilities and how each contributes to the overall Air Force mission to fly, flight and win. They then toured the C-5M technical school at the 733rd Training Squadron where they got an up-close look at the innovative technologies used to train new C-5M pilots including flight-training simulators.
“The biggest thing I’ll take back with me is the dedication and morale that we saw from all ranks and the advanced technology and training methods that are being deployed to help our war fighters,” said Mark Schloegel, Harrison County Development Commission chairman.
Today, the civic leaders visited the 433rd Maintenance Squadron to see the work that happens behind the scenes to get their aircraft off the ground. Then, they traveled to Fort Sam Houston.
The first stop on the Army section of JBSA was the Center for the Intrepid. The Center for the Intrepid is where military members from all branches of service receive rehabilitation after severe combat injuries. Some of these injuries include amputations, burns and loss of vision.
“I was also surprised by the advanced medical training and technology and the speed and ease at which they apply the critical healing needed at the Center for the Intrepid,” Schloegel said.
The next stop was the Army’s Department of Combat Medical Training Medical Education and Training Campus, which trains about 5,000 Army combat medics per year. Army Maj. Stephen Harper, department chair, said their training has led to the lowest killed in action rate in U.S. military history. The attendees also had an opportunity to walk through their training simulator and experience the flashing lights, smoke and loud noises a combat medic might experience in the field.
Rebecca Smith, Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino director of talent acquisition and management, said the biggest thing she’ll take away from the trip is realizing how many moving parts there are in the military and that the work businesses do out in the community affects military operations and the military operations affect the businesses out in the community.
“I’ve found some opportunities for us to better support operations,” she said. “We have a unique workforce that offers the flexibility they need to be able to leave and not worry about supporting their families.”
“The importance of engaging with civic leaders is that we need them to better understand how critical they are to the success of the Air Force,” Manion said. “A majority of our Reserve Citizen Airmen are typically only here two days a month so they spend most of their time living and working with leaders like these. When employers and civic leaders understand how and what we do, they are immensely more supportive and it makes it easier for our Reserve Citizen Airmen and active component Airmen to focus on their mission.”
| Date Taken: | 03.24.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2017 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 228354 |
| Location: | KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, US |
| Web Views: | 33 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Gulf Coast Civic Leaders witness total force, innovation, by Heather Heiney, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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