Keesler Airmen team up to achieve mission success

Courtesy Photo | Lt. Col. Abbie Luck, deputy detachment commander of the 732 Expeditionary Support Squadron/Combat Stress Control and Lt. Col. Steven Ramsay, Tallil Logistics Military Advisory Team lead, meat with Iraqi army officials at Camp Ur, Aug. 7. Both colonels are deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.  

ALI BASE, IRAQ

09.03.2009

Story by Airman 1st Class Scott Saldukas 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

ALI BASE, Iraq - For two Air Force commanders the transition from home station to Iraq has been about utilizing all available resources to accomplish the mission.

Lt. Col. Steven Ramsay and Lt. Col. Abbie Luck are both deployed to Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. Both serve in two very different roles here but have managed to work together to provide for those they serve.

Luck is the Keesler AFB, Miss., Mental Health Flight commander and is currently serving as the deputy detachment commander of the 732 Expeditionary Support Squadron/Combat Stress Control clinic. The Air Force team consists of 23 Jet Airmen mental health providers and technicians. The 732 ESPTS/CSC provides mental health care to COB Adder, and six Forward Operating Bases in Southern Iraq.

According to Luck, the primary focus for the CSC is the health and welfare of deployed personnel to enhance their wellness, provide effective coping skills and maintain mission focus while in a different and unfamiliar environment.

The clinic is set up to help Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and Department of Defense civilians serving here.

While Luck sees to the well being of coalition forces, Ramsay provides for the Iraqi Army. He is the deputy commander of the 81st Training Group at Keesler AFB, Miss. In Iraq, he leads a 10 man Logistics Military Advisory Team (eight U.S. Air Force and two U.S. Army) who act as advisors to the Iraqi army at Camp Ur. The LMAT team is an Army entity that reports to the Multi-National Security Transition Command- Iraq.

"I am responsible for a team that provides logistical and medical advice to the entire base or Location Command," said Ramsay, who hails from Fitzgerald, Ga. "We mentor and advise on all aspects of running a base and the challenges associated with getting the mission accomplished. We are all building relationships with our counterparts at Location Command."

Each member of the team advises someone several grades above their rank. In the case of my NCOs, they are advising senior officers (O-5 and O-6), he added.

He noted that the job isn't more difficult than at home station but that it is different.

"Leadership and command is about people," he said. "The team has had to learn both the Iraqi army culture as well as the U.S. Army culture. This has been a challenge at times but we are making great strides daily."

Although the Joint Expeditionary Tasked Airmen do different jobs they work together to support each other's mission both deployed and at home station.

"As soon as Ramsay arrived at Keesler he wanted to be proactive and meet the helping agencies on base to be prepared to help his students and his instructors before there was a crisis," said Luck. "He contacted me on several occasions to ascertain the best options for the tech training students and the Air Force. Unfortunately, we met in the emergency room when one of his Airmen was in crisis."

Ramsay stated that he and Luck have worked with each other for three plus years. As a squadron commander, she and her staff were able to provided support via ADAPT for many of his Airmen while seeking out her assistance and advice on many cases involving his Airmen and civilians.

Integrating that working relationship while deployed to COB Adder has allowed them to use each other's expertise to ensure a smooth transition.

"I invited Luck to come visit Camp Ur to give her a better appreciation of life outside the wire," said Ramsay. "This was intended to help her understand some of the pressures and isolations soldiers may feel when they arrive at her clinic for counseling. Also I wanted my team to meet her and feel comfortable going to her if they needed to seek support for stress while they are deployed."

Camp Ur is an Iraqi Location Command which is similar to an Air Force Mission Support Group. It is a base that accomplishes several missions but mainly focuses on training.

The purpose of taking Luck outside the wire to Camp Ur was to allow her to understand why travelling outside the wire is a stressor and how she can help her patients that deal with it firsthand. Second was that it's not nearly as dangerous as people think. The commander's at Camp Ur wanted her to see and feel how safe it is at Camp Ur he added.

"It was amazing to see history in the making and that we are not at war with the Iraqis any more, but I actually got to witness how far our countries friendships have grown," said Luck, the Alexandria, La., native.

It also reminds me how blessed we are to have the technology, medical care and creature comforts that we sometimes take for granted she added.

"Ramsay and his team are truly winning the hearts and minds of the future generations of the Iraqi military which will hopefully lead to peace for many generations to come," said Luck. "We plan on continuing to work together to better help provide for all those we serve."

• Date Taken: 09.03.2009
• Date Posted: 09.03.2009 08:48
• Story ID: 38317
• Location: ALI BASE, IQ