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Airlift control Airmen set stage for operations

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jennifer Gerhardt
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Twelve reservists from the 446th Airlift Control Flight here participated in Pacific Lifeline, a humanitarian assistance disaster response exercise, Jan. 26 to Feb. 9. Their job is not to evacuate injured people to a hospital but without them that vital mission would never get off the ground.

Pacific Lifeline took place on three Hawaiian Islands. It involved more than 900 Department of Defense people, including 145 reservists from the 446th Airlift Wing.

"Eight of us arrived early to set up tents, serve as the personnel readiness function, receive aircraft, and help the exercise players coming on station," said Maj. Ray Luevenos, contingency response element operations officer from the 446th ALCF. "Once the people in charge of those functions arrived, we were able to completely focus on our mission."

Airmen from nine Air Force specialty codes make up a CRE. They include aerial porter, civil engineers, loadmasters and operations officers.

CRE members are able to go anywhere in the world within 36 hours and set up a mobile command post and logistical support unit. Whether setting up a flightline or tracking air assets, they ensure air operations can begin at even the most remote airfield.

"The only difference between doing our job downrange and humanitarian assistance is that we're dealing mostly with medical equipment and passengers," said Master Sgt. Lyle Lane, a loadmaster with the 446th ALCF. "Downrange it is more cargo and troops with a mix of medevac, instead of all medical."

A CRE usually deploys 16 people.

During the Pacific Lifeline exercise, the element had 12 people running 24-hour operations in charge of real-world accountability for all Air Mobility Command aircraft, people and cargo.

"Each person in the ALCF wears about four or five hats," said Master Sgt. Tom Martin, the senior air reserve technician in the 446th ALCF.

Sergeant Martin has worked in the ALCF as an airfield manager since 1997, ensuring runways are set up properly and safe to handle cargo aircraft. Like every member of the ALCF, his level of responsibility goes beyond his Air Force specialty code. Certified to deploy in a command position, Sergeant Martin has the authority of a commissioned officer in certain deployment scenarios.

However, Sergeant Martin and the rest of the CRE crew didn't do it all. There was a lot of communication and coordination with the aeromedical evacuation operations team, the air transportation operations center and the contingency aeromedical staging facility.

"It is a training environment for everyone involved," said Major Luevenos. "We're each learning how to work with each other. At the end of the day, we want to be safe and iron out any problems (during exercises), so we're more efficient and operate smoothly downrange."

Members of the CRE focus their attention on the aircraft, while the aeromedical evacuation operations team concentrates on caring for patients and the air transportation operations center handles cargo. The biggest challenge between the three operation centers during the exercise was communication so each agency was more efficient and not duplicating tasks.

"There is a lot of coordination and communication between the three areas," said Major Luevenos. "We're the belly button for everything that is going on at the flightline and we work together to ensure everything matches up at the end of the day." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)