32 APS integrates with active-duty counterparts

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly
  • 911th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  Approximately 20 Reservists from the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station traveled to Germany for two weeks of total force integration training here, May 3, 2015.

The men and women of the 32nd Aerial Port Squadron integrated with their active-duty counterparts with the 721st Aerial Port Squadron here to conduct real-world training at one of the busiest aerial ports in the U.S. Air Force.

"This is a great opportunity to get our people first-hand experience alongside the active duty and to see what the job is like outside of Pittsburgh," said Master Sgt. John McCoy, ramp services supervisor, 32nd APS. "Working side-by-side with the 721st APS to execute its day-to-day mission is providing us with the proficiency and refresher training we need to properly perform our job in a deployed location."

The increased mission here provides the Reserve air transportation specialists with real-time training in their five functional areas. The 32nd APS's members are divided among the ramp, cargo, air terminal operations center, passenger service, and special handling sections of the 721st Aerial Port Squadron to work alongside their active-duty counterparts.

Within the first week alone, the five integrated sections of 32 APS and 721 APS personnel handled more than 60 aircraft. Mission totals included more than 1,350 passengers, one ton of mail, 530 tons of cargo and 70 tons of baggage.
The diverse missions allowed the 20 Airmen to work with a variety of different aircraft, equipment and cargo different from those trained on at the Pittsburgh IAP ARS. 

"We are receiving a lot of hands-on training and accomplishing tasks that we would not be able to perform at home station," said Master Sgt. McCoy. "Our Airmen can read about how to execute certain tasks back in Pittsburgh, but it is not until they have the opportunity to actually perform them that it will click."

Working the passenger terminal here, a function not performed at the Pittsburgh IAP ARS, provides PAX personnel the hands-on experience needed to handle commercial aircraft and the processing of passengers and their luggage.

Training was built around the approximately 340 tasks the 32nd APS slated the five sections to have completed and documented during their two weeks. 

With the active-duty trainers standing by to help, several members are participating in material handling equipment refresher training courses and initial certification training for the Tunner 60k loader. Accomplishing these certifications during annual tour is efficient because it increases mission readiness and eliminates the need for the Air Force to send operators to the Transportation Proficiency Center at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia for training prior to deployment.

Having one of the largest aerial ports in the Air Force allows the 721st APS the capabilities to fulfill almost any training requirement for the Air Reserve Component. Approximately every two weeks during the summer months, the 721st APS hosts a new group of air transportation specialists from around the Guard and Reserve to train with its people, equipment and facilities. 

"There is a lot that [the Reserve and Guard] do not have at home station so we open the ports up to help them receive the tools and experiences they need to back us up," said Senior Master Sgt. Wayne Donnelly, 721st APS superintendent. "These two weeks set the ground work to make total force integration that much easier."

Involvement in total force integration outside home station is likely at some point for Reserve air transportation specialists, as the Air Force Reserve Command holds the largest pool of them.  According to Donnelly, the Guard and Reserve components comprise 65 percent of the Air Force's approximately 12,000 members in the air transportation career field.

"If you walk through the warehouse right now, you can't tell [the 32nd APS and 721st APS personnel] apart," said Donnelly. "It's a seamless operation and that's how it needs to be. It shows the total force team concept."