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728th AMCC best in AMC for 2008

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Joseph Kapinos
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Long duty days, phones ringing off the hook, one issue after another that needs to be addressed, a plane landing now and another one ready to taxi. It is orchestrated chaos!

But it is just another day at the office for the men and women of the 728th Air Mobility Control Center, now recognized as the Best AMCC in Air Mobility Command for 2008, something that comes as no surprise to Maj. Gary Goosen, 728 AMCC flight commander.

"We are the premier cargo hub in this area of responsibility," said Major Goosen. "Last year we moved more than 90,000 tons of cargo and more than 22,000 passengers during 5,800 missions. We have a tremendous impact on the warfighter down range, as we provide almost half of the cargo that comes into Iraq by air."

The primary mission for the 728 AMS is the movement of cargo and personnel into Iraq and Afghanistan to support theater operations. Included in these operations are the handling of maintenance issues, cargo loading and unloading and the proper movement of passengers to their destinations. All of this has to be coordinated with other centers both downrange and back in the United States. That is where the control center steps up and helps move the mission.

"We here at Incirlik move almost 50 percent of the Operation Iraqi Freedom sustainment air cargo," said Major Goosen. "This equates to roughly 16 percent of what AMC moves on a daily basis.

All of this couldn't be done without help from other agencies that work side-by-side with the controllers. In the small room that makes up the center, there are professionals from maintenance manning the Maintenance Operations Center, as well as Aerial Port experts in the Air Terminal Operations Center. All of these agencies have to work in concert with each other to get the dozens of aircraft on the tarmac and into the skies. It takes a keen mind and the right kind of person to keep the flow of information organized, something the 728 AMS leadership team chalks up to proper training. But it also takes the right kind of person, and many times it is an Airman who is running the show.

"We have Airmen like Senior Airman Linda Wald who are working with the commander daily, informing him of daily operations, talking to AMC and the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill, coordinating distinguished visitor flights, along with all of the standard operations that take place every day," said Master Sgt. Gary Beck, 728 AMCC superintendent. "What this means is that we have a senior airman making big decisions, coordinating with leadership, sending messages through operational reports up to the four-star level. These guys are doing tremendous things, things way above their normal level of responsibility. We train and equip them, but they are the ones getting the job done."

Air Mobility Command announced the award winners in early March, but it wasn't until the annual C2 conference in San Antonio, Texas, March 16 -20, that the "hardware" finally touched the hands of one of Incirlik's own, when it was handed to Tech. Sgt. Lataskie Newell, 728 AMCC training manager, who then brought it back to the commander to present to the now "award winning" team of controllers.

"This award is a justification of all the hard work accomplished by these young Airmen," said Lt. Col. Scott Morris, 728 AMC commander. "These Airmen are trusted with an incredible amount of responsibility and they get the job done each and every day."