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Hill's consolidated command post a model for success

  • Published
  • By Bryan Magaña
  • 419th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  As more Air Force Reservists team up with their active-duty counterparts, Hill's consolidated command post has become a model for how joint operations succeed.

Working together since 2007, 419th Fighter Wing and 75th Air Base Wing command post personnel, or controllers, have created an environment that recognizes strengths on both sides.

"The active duty brings in a lot of personnel, and the Reserve brings a lot of experience and continuity," said Tech. Sgt. Shane Leavitt, 419th NCOIC of command post operations.

As the "eyes and ears" of the commanders, controllers take part in diverse missions, including recalls, runway closures, deployments, emergency actions, weather notifications, and changes in readiness. While the typical command post supports one or two commanders, Hill's controllers tend to six.

Reservists make up about one-third of the command post staff, helping to balance the active-duty tempo in which Airmen change stations and deploy more often.

In the past year, Sergeant Leavitt helped merge training programs for Hill's reserve and active-duty controllers, who had previously trained separately and according to guidance from their major commands.

"There are lots of different rules and regulations between MAJCOMs, and our controllers must be versed in all of them," said Lt. Col. Michael Poggi, the 419th Command Post chief.

Consolidating the training meant comparing requirements from all three MAJCOMs represented on the base, with the ultimate goal of having Airmen from both sides trained to the other's standard. The most stringent regulations among each MAJCOM became the new standard.

Sergeant Leavitt's hand in streamlining the training helped earn him Air Force Reserve Command's Command Post NCO of the Year award for 2010. In fact, all 2010 individual award winners for command posts throughout Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Reserve Command were from Hill. The team was also recognized as outstanding performers in last year's Air Combat Command Operational Readiness Inspection.

The accolades prove that Total Force works at the command post, Sergeant Leavitt said.

"We continually choose to work and grow together instead of focusing on what divides," he said. "Really knowing each other's jobs, that creates a high level of trust."

Tech. Sgt. Jamie Hamilton, the reserve training manager, can affirm the Total Force triumph. Former active duty, she is now a full-time reservist in the same shop. Sergeant Hamilton, also an AFRC award-winner, said the controllers are "completely integrated" and their success is due to hard work and commitment.

"We have the same training plan, the same responsibilities, the same expectations," Colonel Poggi said. "This is a team effort. The Reserve couldn't do it without active duty, and active duty couldn't do it without us. We all wear the same uniform."

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