379th Air Expeditionary Wing reaches new heights

Published Sept. 2, 2007
By Capt. Teresa Sullivan
379th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Brig. Gen. Charlie Lyon, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing commander hosted eight commanders calls to review some of the wing's accomplishments over the past few months and to thank Airmen for their service.

To begin, Lt. Col. Gary Ziccardi, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing chaplain spoke to the wing about Ramadan, the upcoming sacred holiday for Muslims. He explained that Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. For Muslims, fasting is a process of purification and during Ramadan they will abstain from food, water and other activities from dawn until sunset. Instead, they spend time in prayer and reading the Quran. The objective is to attain the consciousness of Allah and protection against Shaitan, an entity analogous to Satan in Christianity. Ramadan, based on a lunar calendar, begins Sept. 13 and ends 12 Oct when they celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a three-day festivity. The chaplain reminded Airmen to be considerate around host nation Muslims during the time of Ramadan out of respect.

Following the chaplain's briefing on Ramadan, Ms. Shirley Bratton, 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Airman Readiness Center manager, discussed reintegration for those approaching redeployment. Whether single, married, with or without children, the ARC has information on how to make the transition back home a smooth one. Reintegration sessions are available 24 hours a day for Airmen of the 379th AEW. The chapel holds sessions daily at 10 a.m., workshops are held at the ARC Monday through Friday at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday at 11 p.m. Mental Health offers coping resources and the chapel offers online reintegration sessions on their intranet webpage as well.

After that, the general took the stage spending a few moments touching upon the recent accomplishments of the wing addressing the wing's focus on "mission first," "sending home better Airmen" and "making the base a better place"

"You all have worked at an incredible pace that's been done in an effective manner," said General Lyon. "Our civil engineers have made this base a better place. Our contractors have kept the base running and our logistics readiness squadron has pumped fuel in amounts almost too big to count."

The general spoke about every group's contributions to the mission. He also described a couple of the many successful operations the wing took part in.

"Our wing has participated in dozens of high intensity missions," said General Lyon. "Whether you fly, work the back end, protect or sustain our aircraft and our aircrews - everything you do has allowed us to succeed as members of the joint team on the ground and in the air over Iraq and Afghanistan."

The general described how integration and synchronization of the wing's aerial assets contributed to the destruction of multiple improvised explosive devices and weapons caches in theater.

"We've got our JSTARS out there tracking vehicles and potential ambush locations so we can bring in the B-1s to drop GBU 31s or 38s to eliminate the enemy and IED s," he explained. "Plus our KC-135s allow us to have persistence and extend out loiter time over target through aerial refueling. To top it off we move thousands of pounds of cargo, passengers and conduct air evacuation missions weekly. "Not only did the wing reach new heights operationally, but it served as an environment where Airmen could focus on self-improvement."

Over the past four months nearly 500 Airmen completed Community College of the Air Force courses, about 250 distance learning exams, and more than 1,000 PME tests and CLEP exams were administered. Additionally about 600 Airmen reached milestones in running and weight lifting categories.

Finally the general described how the wing is transforming from an expeditionary to enduring mindset where many efforts are in the works to make the base a better place.

"Our new Millennium Village transition team continues to make strides with the new living complex here, and we continue to work towards better living and work facilities. Every time you see a pile of dirt, rocks and equipment you should know that someone is busy at work trying to make this base a better place. "

To conclude the commander's call, the general thanked the Airmen about to redeploy for their service and thanked those remaining for their continued dedication.

"This location is the crown jewel of the war on terrorism," said General Lyon. "Whether we're asked to go west to the Horn of Africa, north to Iraq or northeast to Afghanistan, we're postured and ready to get the mission accomplished every day - every week. We are prepared to synchronize and integrate airpower to strike on a moment's notice. It's incredible what you do day in and day out - I marvel at it. You've got a lot to be proud of."