379th Air Expeditionary Wing brings fight, supplies, relief Published Feb. 22, 2006 By Tech Sgt. Veronica Aceveda 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs SOUTHWEST ASIA (AMCNS) -- While each military branch promotes individual service pride, the days of fierce competition and rivalry among the services have seemingly slipped to the side for the concentrated war effort. One particular cavalryman here knows this all too well. Army Ground Liaison Officer Capt. Phil Messer monitors the interaction between the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing’s air support and ground troops on a daily basis. “(The 379th AEW) drops a lot of bombs, which is a direct part of the fight – saving coalition lives,” said Captain Messer. Located in an office plastered with maps and charts of the AOR, the Army soldier recalled an e-mail he recently received from a ground troop. “(The ground troop) said, ‘We sure do appreciate seeing (the planes) overhead. We were a long, long way from reinforcements; and, it was comforting to know that we could get on the radio and have jets screaming overhead in minutes.’” Soon after receiving the e-mail, Captain Messer said he shared the message with the fighter squadron, which had been tasked for that particular mission. “When you’re out in a remote location, and you run out of ammunition or your vehicle breaks, the 379th (AEW) can provide a real confidence boost,” said Captain Messer. “Whether it’s a jet in the event of an attack or a helicopter for an accident, it’s a remarkable capability of the 379th (AEW) – to reinforce units that really need it.” The GLO officer, deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., also made it clear that fighter aircraft aren’t the only effective operations in the war effort. “Every soda a soldier drinks, every Band-Aid or bullet that’s used comes to them, most likely, from one of our C-17s or C-130s,” he said. “Yes, there are a lot of trucks making deliveries, but there’s a huge amount of airflow that comes through us.” “Rest assured our efforts in the 379th AEW will be written in the history books,” said Chief Master Sgt. Dwayne F. Hopkins, wing command chief. “Our children and grandchildren will ask what we did for Iraq or Afghanistan. We can answer by saying, ‘Our Airmen in the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing have mastered putting boots on the ground, delivering cargo, providing (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance), air refueling and bombs on target. Every single person in each specialty here is part of this critical mission in fighting this war. Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines can be proud of their efforts against terrorism around the world.’” Captain Messer, who has witnessed many of the joint operations over the past six months, agreed that there’s no room for argument. “Every capability that comes out of this wing is 100 percent critical to the war effort,” he said.