Tinker reservists deploy to Southwest Asia

by Capt. Jon Quinlan
507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

1/17/2013 - TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Morehtna 130 Reserve Airmen said goodbye to their families, friends and civilian employers here Jan. 7, as they deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Air Refueling Operations in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

The reservists will support a broad spectrum of air refueling missions coming in and out of the area of operations.

"The wing is committed to providing a combat effective force multiplier to support the AEF (Air and Space Expeditionary Force)," said Col. Russell Muncy, 507th Air Refueling Wing commander. "Our men and woman are playing a critical role providing air refueling that affects all Air Force mission sets in Afghanistan and beyond. My hats off to these brave Airmen who sacrifice much to provide the best product possible. Let us not forget the sacrifices that our airman's families and civilian employers are making as well. Without their commitment, the citizen Airman would not be able to perform this vital mission for our country," Muncy said.

Getting these Airmen out the door takes a large amount of preparation that starts nearly seven months out, according to logistics readiness officials.

Work included scheduling and conducting all training, airlift, medical, and legal items before the deploying members leave. It took a team of nearly sixty 507th Air Refueling Wing personnel to support the deployers and get them out the door and into the theatre.

One of the biggest challenges reservists have is juggling deployment readiness items with their civilian jobs and families.

"Finding the right balance can be a challenge but important when facing a deployment," said Senior Master Sgt. Jamie Horn, 507th Logistics Readiness Squadron plans superintendent. "We just have to ensure everyone is ready at any time to go where we are called to."

Citizen Airmen being ready at a moment's notice is what makes the Air Force Reserve play such an important role in the defense of the United States, according to Reserve commanders.

"We consistently have deployment and operations tempos that rival and surpass many other Air Force Reserve and active duty units," Muncy said. "My thoughts are with our Airmen and hope they have a safe and successful deployment."