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380AEW Article

Eyes and ears of the base

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jacob Morgan
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Although specific tasks vary from base to base, the command post is primarily responsible for flowing critical information and keeping the base running smoothly and effectively. Airmen of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Command Post manage crisis communication and have the ability to contact anyone around the world at the drop of a hat.

"We are the eyes and ears of the commanders," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brandon Winn, 380th AEW Command Post superintendent. "We know about everything going on around base from operations to base security and we have the tools to communicate with multiple people immediately."

Command post controllers have myriad responsibilities. They connect operators and maintainers; they monitor missile defense alerts; they keep base defense agencies in the loop; they report safety condition changes, and keep leadership informed of base happenings.

Keeping communication lines open between operations and maintenance personnel starts with uploading the missions for the day into a computer system for the 380th Expeditionary Operations Group and Expeditionary Maintenance Groups to see. This list of missions drives the bases tempo for the day.

When aircraft take off, the command post keeps track. When they land, command post stays in contact with the aircraft and relays information between the maintenance operations center and the pilot.

"While we are in contact with the pilot, we figure out if there are any maintenance issues or extenuating circumstances and we pass that information along," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Steven Estrada, 380th AEW Command Post controller. "Sometimes we have checklist to run for emergencies, but most of the time we keep the aircraft and maintenance connected until they can speak on the ground."

The other responsibilities of the command post include communicating with everyone on base.

For base defense, the same strategy applies. From a fire to a suspicious package, command post has the resources at its disposal to contact the appropriate agencies quickly.

What most members of the 380th AEW see on a day-to-day basis are the changes in heat stress conditions and public announcements on the television. Command post does not decide what heat stress posture to be in; however, they have become the 'go-to' for this information because of their expertise in getting and disseminating it.

"Our main goal with all communication is to pick the right tool and get the message out as soon as possible," said Estrada. "If the Red Cross calls with an emergency notification, we need to get the message to the member as soon as possible, the same goes for many other scenarios."

This includes communicating with base leadership when necessary. In most cases, command post is the first to find out about an emergency on base. They get this information to the decision makers, and pass the resulting decision down to the base.

"We give all of the bad news sometimes," said Estrada. "We can also calm fears and keep people safe with the information we get out. We make a difference and if we do our job right, we can possibly save lives."