New squadron to develop cadre of mobility veterans

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn J. Jones
  • 514th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Major military operations, such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Unified Response in Haiti, place huge demands on Air Force mobility aircraft and personnel.

Troops must be transported, cargo must be delivered, casualties must be evacuated and aircraft require airborne refueling.

To help manage these multifaceted demands in the midst of ongoing operations, the 514th Air Mobility Operations Flight will soon expand into a full-fledged squadron of approximately 75 air mobility specialists.

The unit's mission is to plan, coordinate, execute and recover air mobility requirements at the operational level of war, meaning they are in charge of managing "big picture" mobility operations as opposed to individual tactical missions.

"It is like being Exxon, FedEx, Delta, and Life Flight all wrapped up into one organization," said Lt. Col. Paul Pinkstaff, 514th AMOF commander.

Managing mobility operations requires AMOF personnel to assign the most efficient mix of aircraft and Airmen to meet operational demands. This cannot be accomplished without considering security, aircraft maintenance, aircrew rest schedules, airfield conditions and the continuous reshuffling of missions that occurs to meet emerging priorities.

All of these dynamic variables require the Airmen of the 514th AMOF to be experts in some facet of air mobility. Seventeen Air Force specialties are represented among the unit's 32 members. Additionally, with an average of 18 years of service per member, the unit boasts a lot of experience.

"Lots of fantastic mobility experience," Colonel Pinkstaff said about his unit. "These are the folks you want solving your problems."

The experience proves useful when planning and coordinating at the operational level.

Master Sgt. Richard Heister, a loadmaster and airlift specialist with the 514th AMOF, has a wide variety of work experience that he calls upon in his capacity as an airlift expert. He served as an active-duty Air Force radar technician during the Vietnam era. He has also worked as an electronics mechanic at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and as an electrician at Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst before it merged with the joint base here. Additionally, he has spent approximately three months at sea aboard naval vessels. Furthermore, he has served as an Air Force Reserve loadmaster since 1985 and has specialized in airlift operations since 1998.

During a deployment to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, in 2002, Sergeant Heister worked at an air operations center that did not include a liaison from the U.S. Navy. When mobility operations issues involving Navy assets arose, Sergeant Heister was able to provide advice as the de facto in-house expert.

The AMOF combines the accumulated experience of its Airmen with a robust training program, which ranges from low-tech training scenarios to major multinational exercises - some of which include as many as 5,000 participants.

Colonel Pinkstaff said the major exercises allow them to hone their planning, execution, and risk-assessment skills and provide the "mental gymnastics that are crucial in handling real-world events."

When 514th AMOF Airmen are called upon to support ongoing or emerging military operations, they typically report to the air mobility division of one of the eight major air and space operations centers across the globe. The Combined Air and Space Operations Center in Southwest Asia is the most active air operations center. Its air mobility division manages operations throughout the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the 514th AMOF continues to grow into a squadron, Colonel Pinkstaff said he expects to take advantage of some of the inherent characteristics of a Reserve unit. Not only does his staff possess vast military and civilian experience, but unlike their active-duty counterparts who move from base to base during their career, most Reservists establish long-term continuity at one duty station. Colonel Pinkstaff hopes these qualities will help his unit to develop into an air mobility operations repository which can help other units to manage the multifaceted mobility demands of major military operations.