Spangdahlem officials create hassle-free deployment processing

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nick Wilson
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  The 52nd Mission Support Group here plays an important role in supporting the 52nd Fighter Wing mission by ensuring the in and outprocessing procedures for deploying Airmen are as stress free as possible.

"It boils down to customer service," said Capt. Jesus Acuna-Perez, 52nd Logistics Readiness Squadron installation deployment officer. "To what degree can I make it absolutely awesome for the re-deployers and the people going out? Because I most certainly want to be treated that way."

According to Col. Jodine Tooke, 52nd MSG commander, the biggest challenge of supporting high numbers of deploying Airmen is communicating with them as soon as they return.

"The challenge remains at communication because invariably the most important question any spouse has is 'When is he or she going to get home?'" said Colonel Tooke. "So we try and let them know that once that plane lands it doesn't mean that our deployers are just going to run back. They've got to go through the processing line and make sure they have the information that they need."

Colonel Tooke said this problem is solved by having an installation deployment plan that outlines deploying Airmen and welcomes them back to the base. Before release, Airmen are required to go through a four-day reintegration process run by the Airmen and Family Readiness Center.

Colonel Tooke also believes the most important concern that directly affects people coming back is reconnecting Airmen with their families as soon as possible.

"There's nothing like opening that hangar door and just seeing everybody rushing," she said. "I love that. It's just amazing to see that come together."

The 52nd MSG team does many things to support the influx of incoming Airmen including loading luggage onto flatbed trucks and transporting them from the flightline to the inprocessing building.

Throughout the four-day reintegration process, the Airmen return medical and dental records, weapons, classified documents and receive a schedule of reintegration from the A&FRC. After the first day, the Airmen are released for 24 hours to get some rest and adjust to anything that has changed in their lives while they've been deployed.

"We want to let them kind of get back to their lives and take care of some of the things they need to do like resting after a long flight," Colonel Tooke said.

Days two to four of the reintegration process are the days when Airmen complete the checklist the A&FRC gives them.

Captain Acuna-Perez also plays a large role in the in and outprocessing procedure for deploying Airmen. He identifies what needs to be done and gets the right people involved.

"In a nutshell, the IDO and the installation deployment readiness cell are your focal point for the incoming and outgoing forces and equipment to support coalition partners and missions we have ongoing," Captain Acuna-Perez said. "So with that come a lot of requirements that must be met. It's tedious, it's time consuming and most of all, it's very communicative."

According to Captain Acuna-Perez, instead of traveling all over the base to generate orders, members can now come to the installation deployment cell due to the Air Force consolidating agencies.

Captain Acuna-Perez and members from the IDRC use a large base facility called the triple arches which provide a controlled environment and enough space to inprocess an entire set of incoming deployers at once.

"You reduce a lot of time there and you're able to capture them and tell them, 'this is what we need from you in this required timeline,' and that's basically it," he said. "A unit move whether it's A-10s or F-16s is predominantly maintenance and operations focused so the 52nd Maintenance Group and 52nd Operations Group put together a nice little reception area in a hangar, so right after we process them, we call them together and then walk over there for celebration and reception. It's pretty neat the way it works here at this base."