April 16, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE 2ND LT. EMMA QUIRK
A small group of experts continues to work around the clock
at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, overseeing Air Mobility Command's
contribution to Defense Department operations in the COVID-19 pandemic fight
and arming mobility airmen with clear guidance on executing operations safely
and effectively.
''We've been sprinting since [Air Force Gen. Maryanne
Miller, the AMC commander] activated our CBS on March 4,'' said Air Force Maj.
Gen. Samuel ''Bo'' Mahaney, AMC chief of staff.
''With clear instruction to provide a single, 24/7 cell of
experts who can ensure uninterrupted rapid global mobility amidst the COVID-19
pandemic, these experts have produced more than 40 battle staff directives that
offer guidance to our airmen on everything from aircraft decontamination to
patient movement to timely reporting of COVID-19 cases on our installations,''
Mahaney said. ''With masks donned, these unsung heroes inside the CBS have
toiled around the clock to ensure we continue to help those in need during
these difficult times.''
Under Mahaney's direction and led by a colonel, the CBS is
composed of civilian and military experts from across the headquarters staff,
representing an array of specialties such as medical, logistics, operations,
public affairs, security and liaisons from AMC's 618th Air Operations Center,
to name a few. This collaborative team has provided expertise, networking and
unique perspectives to solving problems, answering urgent tasks and
disseminating time-critical information.
Early on, the CBS anticipated a shift toward virtual
operations. When the governor of Illinois announced a statewide
shelter-in-place order March 20, the team was already postured for the shift.
''Once Scott Air Force Base followed suit by implementing
reduced manning operations, the CBS adjusted accordingly to protect the
mission-essential personnel who continue to maintain a physical presence in
work centers,'' said Air Force Col. John Platte, one of the first CBS directors
to lead daily operations. ''To remain connected while abiding by social
distancing procedures, we've done whatever [was] necessary to maintain robust
communications across the battle staff and headquarters while keeping our
people safe, to include staggered shifts and utilizing teleconference calls,
collaboration platforms and other technology.''
As the CBS manages operations and responds to a steady flow
of requests for information, several operational planning teams and working
groups have labored away in adjacent rooms to develop in-depth plans and
options for some of the more complex mobility issues AMC has faced during the
pandemic.
''The CBS has been, and continues to be, critical to
providing operational planning teams and working groups with information,''
said Air Force Col. Russel Frantz, who provided subject matter expertise to a
team focused on aeromedical evacuation. ''This data was used to plan for and
execute AMC's first Transport Isolation System patient movement, work contracts
for the next-generation airborne isolation system known as the Portable
Bio-Containment Module, and help leadership understand COVID-19 impacts to
training and readiness.''
Among its more pressing tasks, the CBS was directed early on
to develop guidance on how to continue conducting cargo and passenger movement
and aeromedical evacuation missions in and through high-risk areas while
remaining mindful of the growing risk that contagious passengers or patients
might be aboard those missions.
''Our 24/7 OPTs have provided solutions on a variety of
issues, including aircraft decontamination and the movement of contagious
patients onboard pressurized, military aircraft,'' Frantz said. ''We've
developed similar guidance and procedures before on a limited basis during
contingencies like the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but never of this scale and scope.
Our detailed plans and directives have allowed AMC to continue to conduct
airlift and [aeromedical evacuation] missions across the globe in support of
the joint force, our partners and allies.''
Under the direction of Air Force Brig. Gen. Joel Jackson,
AMC deputy director for operations, and operational planning group director Air
Force Col Scott Minton, the CBS and its supporting operational planning teams
helped to plan and establish a Transport Isolation System operation staged out
of Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Additionally, within hours of the CBS publishing
an operational planning team effort to develop AMC's patient movement plan, a
C-17 Globemaster III aircrew and medical support specialists stepped to their
aircraft at Ramstein in the dark of night – with patient movement plan in hand
– to execute the first operational employment of the system and the first
movement of COVID-19 positive patients aboard a pressurized military aircraft.
The April 10 AE mission validated the efforts of the AMC
planners who designed Transport Isolation System operations and the patient
movement plan by safely transporting three infected U.S. contractors from
Afghanistan to Ramstein. They are now receiving care at nearby Landstuhl
Regional Medical Center.
''I'm immensely proud of what these airmen have done through
around-the-clock operations,'' Mahaney said. ''Working long hours with a sense
of urgency, their efforts providing guidance and resources to keep our AMC
airmen safe as they carry out the mobility mission across the globe, from
passenger terminal specialists checking those seeking to fly aboard our gray
tails, to security forces airmen checking identification at the gate.''
As guidance is provided by the CBS, AMC units often provide
formal and real-time feedback to the CBS director so they can revise to better
meet the needs of the force. ''The men and women out executing the guidance we
provide are our eyes and ears,'' said Air Force Col. Patrick Winstead, who
pulled 10 shifts as CBS director. ''We depend on their feedback to make sure
what we are providing is conducive to mission success.'' He added that overall,
feedback has been constructive and positive.
Though the duty hours may have changed for some, a constant
state of readiness is nothing new to mobility airmen. AMC routinely responds to
emerging requirements for airlift across the globe so the command is poised to
support the whole-of-government effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
''It is crucial we keep everything moving across the globe,''
Mahaney said. ''Mobility airmen continue to safely execute rapid global
mobility, and Headquarters AMC is no exception. We’re doing everything possible
to ensure our airmen on the ground and in the skies are able to still conduct
mobility operations in light of the elevated risk COVID-19 presents to our
airmen and operations.''
(Air Force 2nd Lt. Emma Quirk is assigned to Headquarters
Air Mobility Command.)
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