Mobility Airman profile: Scott NCO supports mail operations for Afghanistan base

Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Oluwasegu Odusanya, 455th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, pushes pallets of mail bound for 455th Air Expeditionary Wing members, Dec. 7, at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. During the month of November, 455th ECS members handled more than 360,000 pounds of mail and expect to eclipse that figure in December. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Tech. Sgt. Drew Nystrom)  

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, UNITED STATES

12.20.2010

Story by Master Sgt. Scott Sturkol                                                                                        

Air Mobility Command

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- For deployed airmen, getting mail from home can seem like a "holiday" every day. For the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Oluwasegu Odusanya is one of five airmen who helps get the mail to the thousands of airmen at Bagram.

Odusanya, who is deployed with the 455th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, is part of a team responsible for all official and unofficial mail destined for airmen assigned to Bagram Air Field, a Dec. 9 news report from the 455th AEW Public Affairs states.

During the previous six months, the airmen received, sorted and disseminated an average of more than 130 thousand pounds of mail per month, the report said. In November, Sergeant Odusanya's team handled more than 360,000 pounds of mail in November and are on track to pass that number for December.

Odusanya, the NCO in charge of the team who is deployed from the 375th Communications Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said his airmen do a great job in getting the mail to the airmen as quickly as possible.

"This effort couldn't be done without airmen who have pulled together as a team," said Odusanya in the news report. "They make every day fun and are true professionals. It doesn't matter if we get five pallets or 42."

The report showed Odusanya's team handles almost 2,500 pounds of mail daily. However with the holiday season, one of the team members said they recently had more than 40 pallets of mail -- the equivalent of about 2,000 pounds for each crew member to load and sort -- arrived all at once.

Odusanya said his team is ready for those daily challenges.

"They know the importance of their mission and rely on each other," he said.

In being deployed with the 455th AEW, a wing of more than 5,000 airmen, Odusanya is supporting a mission whose Airmen are "fighting terror and building peace," the wing's fact sheet states. The wing's primary mission is to provide aerial support for coalition and International Security Assistance Forces on the ground.

At his home station with the 375th CS, which is part of the 375th Air Mobility Wing's 375th Communications Group, Odusanya supports a mission that "enables combat power for the 375th Air Mobility Wing in its global reach mission by providing command, control, communications and computer support" to Department of Defense, U.S. Transportation Command, Air Mobility Command, 18th Air Force, the 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center), three flying wings and numerous other units.

(Tech. Sgt. Drew Nystrom, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)

• Date Taken: 12.20.2010
• Date Posted: 12.20.2010 08:54
• Story ID: 62322
• Location: SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, IL, US