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ROCK SOLID WARRIOR

  • Published
  • 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Staff Sgt. Shayla Denise Saulsbury 

Unit: 386th Expeditionary Force Support Squadron 

Job: Personnel/NCOIC, Customer Service 

Home unit: 72nd Force Support Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

How do you support the mission here? I support the mission by assisting our warriors with career-based decisions and applications. I counsel Airmen by letting them know their options when it comes to reenlistments, assignment applications, retraining, R & R, permanent party PCS, COT leave, TDYs (both stateside and AOR travel), in-processing and out-processing. It's my job to ease their mind where paperwork and career decisions are concerned, arm them with as much knowledge as possible to make an informed decision. I also assist with the Right Start program to acquaint newly arrived personnel with base specific ROEs. On the flip side, I run the Right Exit program to help the warfighter's redeployment home as smooth as possible.

How many times have you deployed and what makes this one unique? This is my second deployment to the AOR. It has been unique in that I'm actually working in my career field this time as opposed to being an FP. As a personnelist, there are a number of different sections that we have to be knowledgeable on, and being here has allowed me to brush up on each of them. I work with everyone from the Airman working on the flight line to the wing commander for any personnel-related issue.

How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? The job here is all inclusive, and in one day I can do everything from coordinate reenlistment paperwork with a member's home station to counseling a member on their options for retraining. At home station, I've worked in Outbound Assignments for the past two years. The MPE typically has two-year rotations so it's easy to just get wrapped around one specialty, but as a personnelist it's important that we attend weekly and monthly training sessions to keep up with what's going on in the personnel community. PERSCO's number one job is accountability, but in a deployed location, it's our responsibility to our customer's to be their first line of defense on military issues and concerns while being deployed.