An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

379th PERSCO Team on point in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Bryan Swink
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Editor's Note: This is part one of a three part series on the 379 EFSS/PERSCO team

You have traveled for more than 24 hours; you're tired, hot and simply want to check into your room and get some sleep. However, before you can sleep, you will meet the busiest personnel support for contingency operations team in Southwest Asia.

Your tour has officially started. While you wait in line to process into the base, the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron PERSCO team eagerly awaits to check you in.

The 379th PERSCO team is the largest in the Air Force, consisting of 20 members and every one of them has a workload that keeps them engaged and consistently on their toes.

"Anytime you have a group of 20 people, the main challenge is getting the team to gel together and build a rapport," said Senior Master Sgt. Curtis Green, 379th EFSS PERSCO team chief, deployed from Kirtland AFB, N.M. "The group has really come together and gelled quickly. They have done whatever needs to be done with no questions asked and continually help others so the whole process runs smoothly."

The team's main focus is personnel accountability. PERSCO accounts for 100 percent of people who come through here, regardless of their length of stay. The team is broken into three elements; customer service, deliberate and crisis action planning and execution segments, and the reception control center.

The RCC team deals with all incoming passengers. When Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was in full force, the RCC team here processed more than 50,000 passengers per rotation year. That number has since dropped to 30,000 since the drawdown.

One of RCC's main functions is to help the new arrivals through the immigration process, filling out an accountability sheet and then ensuring their luggage clears customs. The RCC team must work hand-in-hand with host-nation immigrations personnel, so maintaining a positive and productive relationship must be important.

"The relationship has been nothing short of great," said Staff Sgt. Derek Cary, EFSS RCC noncommissioned officer in charge, stationed at Pope Army Airfield. "Each side has a great deal of respect for the other, so we are able to get a lot of work accomplished."

Many times, with larger rotators, the process can take many hours. The RCC team ensures the passengers are as comfortable as possible after their long flight.

"We know they are uncomfortable," said Staff Sgt. Roberto Villalobos, EFSS RCC technician stationed at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. "We just continuously reassure them we are working our hardest to get them through this process as quickly as possible."

The night shift usually deals with larger groups of passengers as most rotation flights arrive at night. This process can be rewarding for the RCC teams because they are the first and last faces people see during their deployment.

"Just to hear the passengers say 'thank you' after a long and tedious flight makes all the long hours baking under the sun worth it," said Villalobos.