Photo By Staff Sgt. Renee Seruntine | Sgt. Yasmin Dehaney, a U.S. Soldier assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company,...... read more read more
ILLESHEIM, Germany – Sgt. Yasmin Dehaney is an aviation operations specialist from Ann Arbor, Michigan with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 6th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and is currently training abroad with the Wings of Destiny at Storck Barracks in Illesheim, Germany.
As the non-commissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of flight operations at Storck Barracks, she maintains flight plans and is primarily responsible for scheduling and dispatching tactical aircraft missions for over 30 aircraft in the CAB’s fleet, which includes UH-60 Black Hawks, CH-47 Chinooks and AH-64 Apaches.
“We track flights and everything the pilots do, and are the first team to hear any information related to ongoing flight missions,” said Dehaney. “We also track the pilots’ flight records and make sure all their documents are up-to-date to make sure that they are current on all certifications needed to fly.”
Dehaney and her team are also responsible for making sure flight clearances are processed on local, national and international levels as well as checking the accuracy of flight plans and coordinating them.
“Whether the pilots are going up for routine maintenance, training flights or real world missions, we track them to ensure they get to their location safely,” said Dehaney. “Our entire job is to ensure the pilots’ safety while they are in the air.”
Dehaney said that she and her team also have to plan for missions that go south.
“If there is a fallen angel, a precautionary landing or an aircraft has to land in an unplanned area due to a fault, then our main job is to ensure they are safe.” said Dehaney. “We have the last answer when an emergency occurs.”
The 101st CAB recently took part in Combined Resolve XIV (CbRXIV) that took place at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany. While there, the flight operations team had the opportunity to perform job in the field with ally and partner forces from across Europe.
“Training in the field is the closest we get to a deployment environment to train,” said Dehaney. “The pace is different; you can get a radio call every 10 to 15 minutes, whether it’s an aircraft going up or coming back, a mishap with an aircraft, or other units within the brigade doing communications checks.”
During CbRXIV, Dehaney was the flight operations battle NCO overseeing everything that happened in the tactical operations center (TOC). The TOC is the brain of the operations in the field where everything is planned and tracked to ensure mission success.
“We have a few different systems we use in the field to track the aircrafts’ locations at all times which we use with maps to view the aircraft to plot points where things can happen out of our control,” she said.
The battle NCO’s hard work in the field was recognized when she was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for being able to help her command brief the capabilities of a brand new system they used during the three-week long training event.
Dehaney has been in the Army for four years and wants to pursue her Bachelor’s degree as a Physician Assistant or in Exercise Science. She intends to become an officer in the medical field if she decides to continue her career in the military.
Her husband, Sgt. Andre Dehaney, is also in the Army at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a human resources specialist with the 5th Special Forces Group. They joined the military together in 2016 and have a two-year-old daughter together named Nova.
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2020 09:52 |
| Story ID: | 380783 |
| Location: | ILLESHEIM, DE |
| Hometown: | ANN ARBOR, MI, US |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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Storck Barracks
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