PERSCO: More than total force accountability

Published Oct. 16, 2013
By Master Sgt. David Miller
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Servicing the largest U.S. Air Force expeditionary wing in the world is no easy task but for the twenty-one Airmen assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron Personnel Support for Contingency Operations team it's their daily mission. They meet every U.S. military member, coalition partner, Department of Defense contractor and civilian assigned to the base or forward deploying to another location in the U.S. Air Forces Central Command's area of responsibility.

The first interaction with PERSCO, as member's process through the Reception Control Center, is when members first arrive at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. Personnel receive a base policy briefing and are asked to provide necessary personal information required to track all permanent party, rotational or transient members.

"We take care of approximately 8,000 personnel that are not permanent party or transient each month," said Master Sgt. Nakia Hartson, the 379th EFSS PERSCO superintendent deployed from F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., and a Cleveland native.

Accountability is critical and the most important aspect of PERSCO. The staff stays busy providing customer service support to any individual requiring assistance.

The PERSCO staff is responsible for in-processing, out-processing, manning assistance (including early release and extensions), emergency leave requests and daily duty status reports. They also support reenlistments by working with the service members home station to complete paperwork.

"Many Airmen think we are the military personnel flight, but we are really liaisons between the member and the home station," said Tech. Sgt. Tanya Akins, the PERSCO day shift NCO in charge deployed from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga., and a Detroit native. "We don't have many tools to help members but we do have the knowledge to empower members in personnel actions."

The PERSCO staff helps members reenlist, extend their current service commitment, obtain common access cards or update other personnel actions daily. They proactively provide monthly briefings on personnel programs and the changes affecting Air Force members.

"We help people navigate the system and realize what they have at their fingertips," said Akins.

Everyone assigned to the AOR is selected and provides a particular skill set and expertise to execute the mission. However, sometimes an emergency at home calls for a member to leave the AOR quickly.

"PERSCO helps members depart the AOR for emergency leave," Hartson said. "We coordinate with the travel management office to get tickets so the member's transportation is taken care of. For those coming from Afghanistan, we provide clothes, lodging and other necessities so they can get to the civilian airport and arrive home as soon as possible."

The PERSCO staff takes care of all of the details so the service member need only focus on the emergency issues at home.

Not only will PERSCO be the first stop on a member's rotation, but they will also be the last.

Every U.S. military member, coalition partner, Department of Defense contractor and civilian who departs from here will all have something in common-they will have been met by a PERSCO team devoted to ensuring service members are taken care of while they are here and are sent back to their families with the same meticulous care.