Lincoln ops half-way done

OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Over the last two months, the sounds of aircraft at Offutt have been replaced by the sounds of construction equipment.

The $19.8 million runway project to repair the normal wear and tear of airfield operations has forced the 55th Wing to 'deploy' its aircraft and Airmen to Lincoln Air Park, Neb., to continue flying the wing's missions.

While the deployment has forced Airmen and civilians to endure hour-long bus rides to and from their workplace at Lincoln, their performance and dedication to the mission have not been diminished, according to Lt. Col. Christopher Hill, 55th Maintenance Squadron commander.

"The Lincoln deployment has had no real negative impact on our ability to accomplish our mission," said Colonel Hill, the deployed maintenance group commander at Lincoln. "We can thank the extensive deployment planning, focus and vigilance of our people to sustain our core operations and maintenance functions."

Although there have been some infrastructure and quality of life 'pop-ups,' "We've been able to remedy these as a result of the outstanding focus and support we've received from a variety of 55th Wing organizations at Offutt and from external organizations including the Nebraska Air National Guard's 155th Air Refueling Wing and the Lincoln Airport Authority," the colonel said.

One might expect the deployment to hinder the wing's ability to accomplish the mission, but the wing actually has seen its mission capability and sortie productions rates improve during the deployment, thanks to the "tremendous teamwork" between operations and maintenance, Colonel Hill said. "This synergy of support and focus has enabled our improved performance."

However, the colonel also stressed the vital importance of face-to-face communication and teamwork between all Offutt organizations such as the 55th Operations Group, 55th Medical Group, 55th Mission Support Group and 55th Communications Group, enabling the success of the wing's deployed mission.

"Without key deployed support functions such as computer network, land mobile radio support, weather, medical, dining facility, transportation and civil engineering, we couldn't execute the mission," stressed Colonel Hill. "We're all in this together to execute the mission and support one another."

On the subject of support, the colonel also would like to thank the non-deployed support agencies at Offutt for their flexibility and support of the deployed troops.

"Thank you for your understanding when a dirty, tired and sometimes bewildered Airmen walks into an office following a more than one hour bus ride and utters the phrase "I'm working at Lincoln..." he said. "Keep up the great support throughout the remainder of the runway project because your efforts are also important to our ability to execute the wing's mission."