CDDOC fulfills multiple requirements in support of OEF Published May 13, 2014 By Senior Master Sgt. Allison Day 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Military members of U.S. Central Command's Deployment and Distribution Center work at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia to fulfill multiple mission requests from different services. The current operations division receives a myriad of requests that are broad and varied in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. "The division routinely validates high-visibility missions, such as airlift support to the Afghanistan national elections, returning our fallen heroes, foreign military sales, movements involving foreign nationals and coalition partners, congressional delegation visits, time sensitive and critical missions that are vitally important to the full range of military operations," said Col. James Fontanella, CDDOC current operations division chief. "Our job here is to synchronize and prioritize any intra theater airlift movement within Central Command." In the days after the devastating mudslide in Northern Afghanistan, CDDOC was called upon to provide humanitarian support. "After the mudslide we validated two time sensitive, mission-critical requests to assist with mudslide relief in Northern Afghanistan," said Fontanella, who served as the 315th Airlift Wing commander, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, prior to deployment. "Our first immediate response was to send an advance aerial port team, which came out of Afghanistan, to access the situation. That was followed by a 10K all-terrain forklift." CDDOC is a 24-hour operation to support requests from customers. "The mission here is logistics-centric and customer focused," said Lt. Col. Jeanne Bisesi, CDDOC current operations deputy division chief. "In our joint role, it's important that we remain an objective arbitrator among competing priorities for airlift requests from all the services in our (area of responsibility)." She finds the best thing about working a joint assignment is the profound mutual admiration and respect she has gained for sister services and the warfighters, especially the excellence they exhibit while tackling the challenges they face in the execution of their duties, she said. The best part of the job for Master Sgt. William Gish, CDDOC NCOIC requirements cellt, is the missions for fallen heroes. "Taking fallen heroes home to their families when they have paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country is the best thing about my job," said Gish, the 19-year Air Force veteran who is deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois and calls Marionville, Missouri, home. "No matter the mission, we try to be good stewards of our resources and transportation costs and do whatever is right for the warfighter, while minimizing the costs to the tax payer," said Bisesi. "We often educate our customers on the most effective, maximum utilization of our aircraft." said Bisesi. Within days of the disaster, CDDOC organized three C-130 Hercules missions originating from Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan, to respond to the mudslides in Northern Afghanistan. "One of the missions involved sending a team of 240 passengers and seven military working dogs to assist in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," said Fontanella. "The team provided 24K pounds of much needed aid and medical supplies, as well as assisted in the search for and rescue of survivors." Another mission provided presidential support by taking President Karzai and part of his team to Northern Afghanistan to evaluate the situation and determine what aid was needed, said Fontanella. "When we get high priority missions such as humanitarian relief operations, troops in contact or fallen heroes those really are our highest priorities," said Fontanella. "Whatever the need, those who need the support of CDDOC can be assured that we will pull in any resources we have in country to support the most pressing priorities above all others."