AMLOs meet for training all-call

by Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez
621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs

12/20/2013 - JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- 

Thirty-two 621st Contingency Response Wing air mobility liaison officers got a chance to get together for the first time in four years for an AMLO Training All-Call here Dec. 3 to 6.

The week was filled with a number of sessions covering AMLO issues, drop-zone and landing-zone operations training, air drops, dynamic cone penetrometer training, and self-aid buddy care training.

"Your work directly supports the war-fighter, and (Air Mobility Command) and (18th Air Force), as well as the team at the (Expeditionary Center), understand that mission very well," said Maj. Gen. Frederick "Rick" Martin, U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center commander assigned here. "It's an honor to meet each of the AMLOs and learn more about our future opportunities to maximize our effectiveness. We discussed many objectives and  I look forward to working with AMC and 18 AF to get those codified and  track through closure."    

AMLOs provide air mobility expertise to their aligned Army and Marine brigade and division and corps level commanders. The AMLO operating locations include Ft. Drum, N.Y.; Ft. Bragg and Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Ft. Stewart and Ft. Benning, Ga.; Ft. Campbell and Ft. Knox, Ky.; Ft. Polk, La.; Wiesbaden and Kaiserslautern, Germany in addition to Vicenza, Italy.

"During my visits throughout the CONUS and European and Pacific theaters, I made a point to try to meet with the AMLOs at the various locations," Martin said. "I am an advocate for the skills you each bring to the mission.  You are an extremely valuable asset.  You are true enablers of rapid, global mobility."

According to Capt. Ed Sutton, 101st Airborne Division AMLO assigned to Ft. Campbell, Ky., they rarely get a chance for everyone to get together and standardize processes and discuss issues.  

"This is our opportunity to hopefully improve things and also knock out some training," Sutton said. "Our goal is to discuss career progressions, standardization, and the future of the AMLOs with the war in Afghanistan drawn down. Also, we're discussing our future concepts in support of operations in the pacific, what we need to do, reorganize and change to make that happen."  

According to Sutton, the plan is to have the AMLO all-call on an annual basis.

"It was a yearly thing but it hasn't been done in the last four years due to budget issues. This is something we hope to bring back," he said.