Courtesy Photo | Col. Sean P. Pierce, 446th Airlift Wing commander, is welcomed home at the Seattle...... read more read more
Technology can help make deployments easier for families, enhancing the resiliency and well-being for deployers.
Col. Sean P. Pierce, 446th Airlift Wing commander, recently returned from a six-month long deployment and shared his deployment experience, as well as tips on staying resilient while deployed.
On his fifth deployment, Pierce served as the Mobility Forces director for U.S. Central Command, working for the CEPAC Air Forces Central Command (CFACC) commander in Qatar.
Traveling around the deployment theater, Pierce helped align CFACC and CENTCOM priorities with mission execution.
“While I was serving in a staff positon, I still had to get out into the theater for eyes on situations to ensure the mission was being accomplished as envisioned.”
He was based at Qatar, but often visited other countries such as, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
Pierce said while the job was demanding, he worked to meet leadership expectations.
“It was challenging, but rewarding at the same time,” he said. “I was able to witness firsthand the benefit across the force structure. It was motivating for me.”
Resiliency while deployed can be tricky, but for Pierce, flying and fitness helped keep him grounded.
He was able to maintain his flying status that allowed him the chance to keep a sense of comradery with other deployed Airmen.
As a competitive triathlete, Pierce helped Air Force triathlon team win the silver medal at the 2018 Armed Forces Triathlon Championship.
“I was able to work daily exercises into my daily construct,” said Pierce.
Pierce’s family also had effective ways to help them cope with the separation.
“We had a FaceTime routine, he said. “Having that connection even for five or ten minutes was good.”
In previous deployments, it was difficult to keep in touch with loved ones and was only able to call home on short phone calls weeks apart.
Special Message for deploying Airmen
Although a large number of ‘Rainier’ Wing Airmen have already deployed, he extends his gratitude to them and other Airmen still preparing for deployments.
“This deployment really gave me a deep sense of appreciation for those Reserve Citizen Airmen who are deploying in low density-high demand, career fields,” he said. “I greatly admire their level of commitment to serving their country. They consistently rise to be equals to their active duty counterparts while deployed and the U.S. Air Force heavily relies on Reservists to meet deployment taskings.”
| Date Taken: | 04.30.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2019 13:38 |
| Story ID: | 320297 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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