Just in time for the holidays

  • Published
  • By Maj. Heather Newcomb
  • 403rd Wing Public Affairs
Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. --  For fourty-six members of Team Keesler, the first few weeks of December were not spent Christmas shopping and attending holiday parties; they were sitting alert in Southern Command's Area of Responsibility as part of Coronet Oak.

"I am proud of each and every deployer," said Lt. Col. John Fox, 403rd Wing member and mission commander for the deployment. "They all stepped up, most leaving families at home, answered the call and kept the mission going."

Coronet Oak is a deployment run by the 35th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron where there is a potential to fly into hostile environments. The 35th EAS is responsible for providing theater airlift in support of U.S. Southern Command operations. They ensure an availability of alert airlift for specialized theater USSOUTHCOM requirements.

"Various C-130 units, mainly AFRC and ANG rotate in for 2 or 4 weeks at a time," said Fox. "In addition to the alert mission, we fly scheduled cargo and passenger missions, but make no mistake, we are down there primarily to sit alert."

Returning the week prior to Christmas, the members who participated are happy to have been part of the mission.

"This was a last-minute deployment before a holiday, right before an ORI and we were able to effectively mobilize to go," said Senior Master Sgt. Steven Campanella, 403rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. "The majority of those who went volunteered to go, which showed a lot of dedication to the mission and organization. While there they worked hard and maintained high morale."

An important aspect of participating in Coronet Oak is the ability to maintain alert status, and for the 403rd Wing this was not a problem.

"We sat alert supporting contingency operations," said Campanella. "And we did that while maintaining a 100 percent mission effectiveness rate."

Total Force Integration was a part of this deployment, but unless you knew who belonged to who on paper, you would never be able to tell Reservists from Active-Duty members.

"Officially there are two squadrons (one Reserve and one Active-Duty), but the atmosphere and vibe feels like one squadron," said Fox. "The 815th and 345th train and fly together every day, work together in every office, and have completely integrated."

With two deployments and countless missions behind them from 2011, the 403rd Wing Airlift Squadrons look forward to what 2012 will bring.

"The crews in the C-130s flying around the coast almost every day and the maintainers who keep them in the air are training to deliver goods in combat, when the chips are down and the warfighters are depending on us to get them their supplies," said Fox. "It was an honor to be asked to fill the role of mission commander for Coronet Oak, and whatever the new year brings, we will be ready."