376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post controls Manas nevre center

MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC -- Staff Sgt. Richard Youngblood, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post controller, takes telephone calls while managing radio traffic here July 28. The Manas Air Base command post serves as the wing's nerve center. Its controllers are responsible for monitoring and tracking emergencies as well as all aircraft sorties taking off and landing at the Kyrgyz Republic air base. (U.S. Air Force photo / Airman First Class Ruth Holcomb)

376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post controls Manas nevre center

MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC -- Staff Sgt. Richard Youngblood, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post controller, monitors and updates flight information on multiple computers here July 28. The Manas Air Base command post serves as the wing's nerve center. Its controllers are responsible for monitoring and tracking emergencies as well as all aircraft sorties taking off and landing at the Kyrgyz Republic air base. (U.S. Air Force photo / Airman First Class Ruth Holcomb)

Command Post operators serve as Manas 24/7 nerve center

Published July 31, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Ruth Holcomb
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyz Republic -- With a phone in each hand and an ear out for radio chatter, it is essential for controllers within the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing command post to be able to manage the many tasks that fall onto their shoulders at a moment's notice.

"The wing command post has a huge responsibility as the nerve center for the main refueling and transit hub for operations in Afghanistan," said Staff Sgt. Richard Youngblood, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post emergency action controller. "It is our mission to follow and track transient airlift aircraft and tanker missions."

"It is also very important that we have a good working relationship with our Kyrgyz hosts as well as Coalition forces," said Sergeant Youngblood. "We are the ones building the schedules, so if we do not coordinate with the other forces, it will delay the aircraft coming in and out of Manas."

The most challenging aspect of working at the command post is making sure that both the Americans as well as the Coalition forces deployed here have current and accurate flight information.

Airmen of all ranks are tasked to perform command post duties and there are constant challenges to mitigate and flight plans to alter and correct. Controllers must be ready to quickly alleviate any dilemma that may arise.

"For many of our Airmen, this is their first deployment, it took a little bit of time to acclimate to the new environment, but they quickly learned what needed to be done," said Sergeant Youngblood.

The command post gets alerted for every on base emergency, and sometimes there is more than one emergency at any one time that must be handled accordingly. Controllers are responsible for prioritizing them so sensitive issues are handled first.

"It gets really hectic around here," said Senior Airman Chelsea Charbonneau, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post emergency action controller. We even had a phone ring once that I had never heard ring before, but with the help of the senior controllers I was steered in the right direction."

When the heat index rises or an emergency takes place, it is the command post controllers who alert the base populace or leadership to mitigate the crisis, whether it's "Liberandos" getting heat exhaustion or a KC-135 in-flight emergency notification.

"For my first deployment, this one was defiantly hard, coming all the way out here with no other Airmen from my unit," said Airman Charbonneau. "What's made it great is I have met a lot of great people and we have all become really close."