SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Sgt. Hood is a command post craftsman deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. She is deployed from the 75th Air Base Wing Command Post at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and her hometown is Hooksett, N.H.
In New Hampshire, the state motto is "Live Free or Die." That motto easily translates to Tech. Sgt. Wendy Hood -- a native of Hooksett, N.H. -- who said she serves because it's highly critical to defend and protect the freedoms of the United States wherever it's needed.
On her sixth deployment, Hood said serving in the military and the Air Force is what she always knew she was going to do. "I knew from when I was an airman first class and on that it would be 20 years for me," said the 15-and-a-half-year Air Force veteran.
Hood is a command post craftsman deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. She is deployed from the 75th Air Base Wing Command Post at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. The technical sergeant said the command, in many ways, serves as a "heartbeat" of information relay for her deployed base.
"We are essentially the focal point for all of the wing activities every day," said Hood said. "We serve as the 'in-between' for aircraft commanders and maintenance operations control. We also maintain two different tracking systems for inbound and outbound flights. That's just a small sight picture of what we do."
Hood works in an office that never closes. The command post operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and someone is always on hand to tackle any issue or request that radioed, phoned or otherwise electronically sent in.
"I believe our best days are when we are a part of a major response," Hood said. "When you work somewhere that is the main information focal point for the wing commander and everyone else on base, and you are responding and relaying information during some event that needs fast coordination, you realize the impact of what your work has every day."
According to her Air Force specialty job description, some of the duties command post Airmen are required to complete include operating and monitoring voice, data and alerting systems. They also develop, maintain and initiate quick reaction checklists supporting situations such as suspected or actual sabotage, nuclear incidents, natural disasters, aircraft accidents or incidents and evacuations.
In job knowledge proficiency, a few of the items command post Airmen must maintain familiarity with include Air Force organization and administration, command post supporting data systems and reporting, automated data processing equipment use, emergency actions and directives, command weapon systems movement and transfer procedures, and encoding, decoding and authorization procedures used by command leaders.
Hood said she spent 13 years of her career in the Air Force civil engineering career field as a structures craftsman. She moved over to the command post field more than two years ago. In all her years, she said whatever career field she's deployed with didn't change the reason why she deployed.
"This is what our training is for," Hood said. "This is where it's at and where our national interests are being protected. Like my days in CE, I know we are here to get a job done and that's exactly what we're going to do."
The 380th Air Expeditionary Wing is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. The wing supports operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.