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763rd ERS surpasses 6,000 consecutive days in AOR

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Francesca Popp and Tech. Sgt. Stephen Staedler
  • CENTAF and 379th AEW Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Now there are streaks. And there are streaks.

Cal Ripken Jr's 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles -- please!

Brett Favre's 237 consecutive starts for the Green Bay Packers -- yawn!

Ninety-nine years and counting for the Lovable Losers from Chicago's north side -- next!

6,000 consecutive days deployed to the AOR for the RC-15V/W Rivet Joint program -- now that's impressive!

Airmen from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's 763rd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron can now tout this milestone.

Just how long is 6,000 days? Try more than 16 years.

"We've been out here for 6,000 days for a reason," said Capt. Guy Perrow, 763rd ERS aircraft commander, "because we're highly valuable."

The mission, and the Airmen who make the mission work, is why the Rivet Joint program is such a hot commodity in the desert. Its mission is to provide real time on-scene intelligence collection, surveillance and analysis to forces on the ground and in the air. Its unique intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities the Rivet Joint program brings to the fight make it a priceless asset in operations around the
world -- including fighting the global war on terror in the AOR.

Day No. 1 of the milestone stretches all the way back to Aug. 9, 1990. Since then the Rivet Joint team, who call the 55th Operations Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. home when not deployed, have supported every operation in the region, starting with Desert Shield and Desert Storm, through current operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Thursday marked day No. 6,000 from the Rivet Joint team.

"This milestone is a real testament to the patriotism and commitment of the aircrews and maintainers of the 55th Wing," said Lt. Col. Doug Sachs, 763rd ERS commander.

"Their sacrifice over the years as has added valuable intelligence services to our warfighting commanders and nation's leadership.

The Rivet Joint platform flies modified Boeing C-135 aircraft, most of which date to the early 1960s. Packed with extensive communications and surveillance equipment, the Rivet Joints allow Airmen to detect, identify and locate signals within a given range. The 25-person crew can then forward gathered information in a variety of formats to a wide range of users via the Rivet Joint's communications suite. The Air Force flies 17 Rivet Joint aircraft, with a third of the fleet undergoing modifications at any given time.

Having been deployed continuously for such a long period has led to several solutions to manage manpower and aircraft. Instead of following the standard Air Expeditionary Force rotation schedule used throughout the Air Force, 55th Wing Airmen work 60 days on/60 days off schedule for deployments...indefinitely.

It's not uncommon for Airmen assigned to the unit to have 15 or more deployments under their belts with the Rivet Joints.

"It puts a heavy burden on spouses and children faced with the prospect of constantly having a parent at home half-time," said Capt. Rabi David, 55th Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge. "The real heroes of this milestone are the families that have endured this grueling schedule throughout these 16 years, and continue to support our team."

Master Sgt. Denny Nichols, 763rd ERS airborne mission supervisor who has been with the Rivet Joint program for nearly 20 years, says he's deployed almost 25 times. During his career he's seen some changes to the mission he and his fellow Airmen fulfill.

"During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, a lot of folks didn't even know we existed," he said. "Now, we're working with other assets and services. We can actually get out there and give information directly to the folks we need it and they know who we are now."

With the streak standing at 6,003 as of today, there's a good chance Airmen of the Rivet Joint team will be adding to that total in the days, months and perhaps years ahead.

"The assets we train with are the ones we fight with," Colonel Sachs said. "Combatant commanders have a near-insatiable demand for our platform and Airmen, yet the 55th Wing must maintain the training pipeline to sustain the long-term effort, and to train combat mission ready crews on the latest platform modifications. It's a real testament to the Fightin' Fifty Fifth's warriors that we've made this mission happen over the long haul.
"Without tenacity, persistence, and a tremendous amount of 'service before self,' we wouldn't have met this milestone. Pausing to look back at our history and understanding the heritage of the Rivet Joint airframe and people, we're better able to prepare for the horizons ahead."