Volume 2, No. 4 403rd Wing, Keesler AFB, Miss. March 31, 2017 Photo by Staff Sgt. Shelton Sherrill Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Packer, 815th Airlift Squadron, secures chains on C-130J Super Hercules aircraft during the Green Flag Little Rock 17-05 exercise March 19 in Alexandria, Louisiana. Wing members return GREEN FLAG: from deployment exercise By Staff Sgt. Shelton Sherrill tenance Squadron maintained planes to ensure they were ready for 403rd Wing Public Affairs each mission. “We see this as a dress rehearsal for our deployment coming up in The 403rd Wing successfully completed the Green Flag Little 2018,” said Rubio. “This puts our Airmen, those who are doing the Rock 17-05 exercise held at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, support functions on the ground and those who are flying the mis- March 10-22. It was the largest Green Flag exercise to date, and the sions, in as close to a combat scenario as we can get so that when first time an Air Force Reserve unit has led such an event. we actually deploy, they will have the feeling they have been there. “The exercise simulated a deployment operated out of Little Rock “It is a time to try out techniques, learn from each other and come AFB, and we flew combat missions to simulated combat areas,” said out much more aware of where we stand and where we need to fo- Lt. Col. Stuart Rubio, 815th Airlift Squadron commander. cus our training leading up to the deployment,” said Rubio. The joint exercise involved active-duty and Air Force Reserve The exercise also prepared members to deal with the stress on components, which provided aerial support to U.S. Army troops to mind and body of flying long missions and challenged their skills gain experience with ground and air operations in a combat zone. in getting the rest needed for their next mission. The 815th Airlift Squadron delivered supplies and transported For the maintainers on the ground, Chief Master Sgt. Mark troops to the deployment locations while the 803rd Aircraft Main- Kettner, 803rd AMXS superintendent, said the exercise allowed FLAG See page 3 www.403wg.afrc.af.mil Women’s History: We all contribute By Maj. Marnee A.C. Losurdo 403rd Wing Public Affairs The 403rd ASTS is It was a frigid day in January on a quiet hill-side cemetery just north of New Mar- ready to deploy when- ket, Iowa. Surrounded by friends and fam- ever necessary to care ily, we bid farewell to my grandmother. As “ we departed on those dusty gravel roads, I for our fighters. remembered my childhood and how she’d had such a profound impact on my life. When I’d arrived two days before her fu- Col Buterbaugh neral, my aunts, uncle and mom asked me to gather their memories and draft a me- morial to read at her funeral. As a public af- fairs officer in the Air Force Reserve, part of Photo by Staff Sgt. Heather Heiney my job is to tell stories. The only difference this time was that it was my grandmother’s story, and I was part of it. Ensuring medical readiness Writing that memorial was an emotional, By Col. John Buterbaugh thought-provoking journey. After inter- viewing my uncle and mother and reading 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron commander over the memories my aunts had emailed The 403rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron is first and foremost a service organi- to me, I spent an afternoon hunched over zation. During war, we serve patients and at Keesler Air Force Base we serve the my laptop in my parent’s living room weav- 403rd Wing. We are here for you, and I hold our members to that ethic. ing all the words together. The task left me Our squadron’s wartime function is to be part of a patient transport chain, which thankful for not only my grandmother, but all the positive role models in my life. Since takes injured and sick military members from the battlefield to our large military the funeral, I’ve been reminiscing about my hospitals in the United States. Because modern medical care relies on stabilization grandmother and all the women who have of patients at small forward medical facilities and sequentially moving the patient influenced me; even more so now that it’s to higher levels of care, one of the links in the chain is a unit like ours. We deploy Women’s History Month. en-route patient staging facilities, which function like temporary holding hospitals Throughout history, women have played at airfields where patients can be taken care of while waiting for airlift transport to a significant role in building America into Europe or the United States. the nation it is. While some of those wom- An example of this would be if a patient sustained a fracture in the field, had en’s contributions are well remembered, initial surgery to externally fixate the fracture using pins and rods, and was then many are not. We may forget their names, transferred to a larger care facility. That patient would be placed in our tent hospi- but we can see the results of their efforts in tal in the field where he would be monitored, given antibiotics and pain medica- the lives we live today. They played their tion, fed and cared for until the next evacuation aircraft arrived. This usually lasts part through the contributions they made settling this nation, performing their jobs, for less than 24 hours. raising their families, and helping their I am very proud of our members of whom more than 90 percent are fully trained communities. and mission ready. The 403rd ASTS is ready to deploy whenever necessary to care My grandmother was one of those wom- for our fighters. en. Her life wasn’t easy but she made it We have another very important function right here at Keesler. Every unit good. She lost her mother at 11, taking on training assembly we provide vital medical services to the wing. Through our many responsibilities most of us don’t have physical exams section we do annual medical evaluations for every member of the to worry about at such a young age. As a wing. Fortunately, not every member needs to physically see one of our doctors young wife and mother she and my grand- each year. However, we review medical records, web health assessment, screen for father bought a small farm with an aban- needed immunizations, review dental forms, and check lab results every year. doned house north of New Market, reno- I would also like to point out that our team is usually able to complete monthly vated it themselves, and raised their family clinic appointments in only a half day. This is in contrast to many other wings that there. By the time I came into the picture, my grandmother was an eclectic expert at require a whole day to do the same thing. many things. Click here to read the rest of Click here to read the rest of the story. the story. 403rd Flyer Page 2 403RD HEADLINES Force support wins command award Air Force News The 403rd Force Support Squadron is the Air Force Reserve Command winner of the Major General Eugene L. Eubank Award for best small installation force support squadron. This award is part of the 2016 A1 awards for manpower, per- sonnel and services. The award encompasses work done in three areas: mission accomplishment; management and customer focus; and leadership, innovation and integration. “This award represents more than our mission accomplishments to the wing, it rewards our hardworking staff. We have traditional reservists who come in early and stay late to finish customer transactions during the unit training assemblies and air reserve technicians who multi-task numerous personnel management issues without hesitation during the week. They all truly earned this award,” Capt. April Martin, 403rd Manpower and Personnel Flight commander, said. Social media miscon- Logistics squadrons exemplify total force duct won’t be tolerated In nature, symbiosis occurs when two WASHINGTON -- The purported actions of organisms live closely together and form civilian and military personnel on social me- a long-term interaction. At Keesler, a dia websites, including some associated with symbiotic relationship has developed the “Marines United” group and possibly oth- and flourished between the 403rd and ers, represent egregious violations of the fun- damental values that are upheld at the Depart- 81st Logistics Readiness Squadrons. ment of Defense, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis The two squadrons are collocated at said Friday in a statement. the Taylor Logistics Center and serve “The chain of command is taking all appro- their respective wings with many of the priate action to investigate potential miscon- same functions. Some of these func- duct and to maintain good order and disci- tions include deployment preparation, pline throughout our armed forces,” Mattis issuing supplies, providing transportation, testing aircraft fuel and more. said. “Lack of respect for the dignity and hu- The 81st LRS supports the day to day technical training mission of Keesler manity of fellow members of the Department and provides base operating support for the 403rd Wing as the host unit. The of Defense is unacceptable and harmful to the 403rd LRS specifically supports the operational missions including weather re- unit cohesion necessary to battlefield victory,” connaissance, tactical airlift and aeromedical evacuation to ensure the wing is the secretary continued. “We will not excuse or tolerate such behavior if we are to uphold deployment ready. According to the squadrons’ commanders, the biggest differ- our values and maintain our ability to defeat ence between the two is the availability of their manpower.