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Top Reserve command post named

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bethaney Trapp
  • 433rd Airlift Wing
Aircraft arrive and depart. Events happen on schedule. Incidents arise to threaten the daily schedule. Problems get solved and the Wing continues to run like clockwork. There is someone behind the efforts. Someone has all the information and knows how to get the right people get the right information at the right time.
The behind-the-scenes focal point is the 433rd Command Post.
“It’s like the brain of the Wing, the eyes and ears, the Wing commanders representative,” said Staff Sgt. Gabe Maciaz, 433rd Command Post controller. "We keep everything running smoothly.”
For a large airlift wing, information is the fuel that keeps everything running smoothly. Command Post is the clearing house for information about the status . It all has to come together to get the mission accomplished.
“We collect, gather, analyze and distribute information under time constraints. We should be the first to know and the first to disseminate information,” said Tech. Sgt. Angelica Kimber, 433rd Command Post controller.
The Command Post provided command and control during Hurricane Katrina relief operations, which directly contributed to the Wing’s C-5s evacuating over 500 passengers and airlifting over 600 tons of cargo.
Rising to the occasion during the hurricane relief efforts is just one example of the many things the 433rd command post does.
Another example is the activity during Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom when the 433rd Airlift Wing flew over 350 sorties, transported over 4,400 tons of cargo and 5,200 personnel in support of the Global War on Terrorism, more than any other C-5 Air Force Reserve Command unit.
Day to day, command post has a never ending checklist of responsibilities, not to mention millions of phone calls.
“Within 10 minutes (of getting to work), I have enough phone calls to keep about 20 people on hold,” said Tech. Sgt. David Pizana, 433rd Command Post Controller.
“As a command post controller there are various things we do. With the C-5, we relay command and control instructions for launch, executions, diversions, evacuations and recovery of forces,” said Sergeant. Pizana.
“There are procedures we have to follow when getting an aircraft ready to go. There are approximately 37 steps that we go through to get an aircraft ready,” said Sergeant Pizana. A few of the steps include, obtaining the orders for the mission, confirming there is a full mission capable (FMC) aircraft that has been released from maintenance, calling each member of the aircrew, verifying a pre-flight inspection was completed, notifying the inbound station of the incoming aircraft and continually monitoring the mission status of the aircraft.
“Everything involving this wing and the aircraft come through here,” said Maj. Jose Saenz, OIC, 433rd Command Post.
“On our command control coin it says always vigilant, that’s really our credo regardless the time of day or incident,” said Sergeant. Kimber.
The 433rd command post staff’s ability to get the right information out to the right people at the right time was recently recognized when they were recognized as AFRC‘s Large Unit Command Post of the Year for 2005.