Air National guardsmen provide support at Ramstein AB

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Cameron Lewis | Personnel specialist with the 115th Force Support Squadron, Truax Field, Wis., receive required upgrade training at Ramstein Air Base, Germany Sept. 11, 2018. The 115th FSS was at Ramstein for approximately two-weeks as part of a movement for training mission. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Cameron Lewis)  

TRUAX FIELD, WI, UNITED STATES

09.20.2018

Story by Airman 1st Class Cameron Lewis 

115th Fighter Wing

Thirty-three Wisconsin Air National guardsmen from the 115th Fighter Wing here went TDY to Ramstein Air Base in Germany Aug. 29 - Sept. 12.

The group, primarily consisting of the 115th Force Support Squadron, was part of a movement for training mission, which allows Air Force Reserve components to provide assistance at active duty bases and receive training.

Over the course of the two-week TDY, 115th FSS Airmen were able to work at most of the 786th Force Support Squadron facilities on Ramstein, experience the German culture, build relationships with each other, and take part in a pilot’s final flight, said Chief Master Sgt. Craig Mortvedt, the 115th FSS superintendent.

“As services we were able to get a little bit of everything,” said Senior Airman Tyler Cash, a services journeyman with the 115th FSS. “Every couple of days they would rotate us from the dining facility, to both gyms, and the fitness assessment center.”
The personnel specialists were also able to work in a variety of areas within their military career field.

“We were doing anything the active duty component needed extra help with,” said Tech. Sgt. Crystal Maldonado, a personnel specialist with the 115th FSS. “We got to complete tasks such as issuing ID cards, creating enlistment extensions, and inputting awards, decorations and evaluations.”

While the TDY kept all the 115th Airmen busy, they still found time to see tour Germany and take in its history.

“A group of us went all the way to Amsterdam to see the Anne Frank house,” said Staff Sgt. Caroline Catlin, a personnel specialist with the 115th FSS. “We were also able to have Belgium Waffles in Belgium and others were able to learn a little bit of French in France.”

Throughout the two-weeks, the Airmen came together to not only learn how to better perform their military specialties in a foreign environment, but to also increase esprit de corps within the unit.

“Spending this much time with fellow Airmen allowed us to get to know each other on a level we wouldn’t normally be able to,” said Airman 1st Class Erika Roesler, a services journeyman with the 115th FSS. “We got to learn what others do outside of the National Guard since we only usually see each other on drill weekends.”

While Airmen were able to build relationships with each other, the 115th was also capable of building its relationship with another Wisconsin Air National Guard unit by being flown to and from Ramstein in a 128th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker.

“On our flight from here to Germay, Airman 1st Class Cameron Lewis, a photojournalist with the 115th Fighter Wing, took a photo of the pilots that later became the Air Force photo of the day and on the way back we were honored to be the last transportation mission for the pilot,” said Maj. Penny Ripperger, the 115th FSS commander.

Participating in a TDY like this allowed Airmen to better their relationships with each other as a unit and as a state with the 128th ARW providing the transportation

This mission showed that a National Guard unit can successfully integrate with an active duty component,” said Ripperger. “The training, knowledge and life experiences 115th FSS Airmen gained while being in Germany is something that will help better their career both in and out of the military.”

• Date Taken: 09.20.2018
• Date Posted: 09.20.2018 14:42
• Story ID: 293745
• Location: TRUAX FIELD, WI, US