Offutt's Honorary Commanders Participate in Deployment Exercise

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Carly A. Costello
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. --  The 55th Wing hosted 30 members of the Offutt Advisory Council for a mock-deployment exercise March 25 at the 55th Logistic Readiness Squadron's Personnel Deployment Function facility.

The goal of this exercise was to give the OAC a better understanding of what the military members at Offutt go through as they prepare for a deployment and to give these community members an idea of how they can continue to support the military members on base and their families.

"We wanted to start with the deployment because this is where your interests and ours as commanders probably overlap the most and that is with our Airmen and their families," said U.S. Air Force Col. Gregory Guillot, 55th Wing commander. "I hope we can all figure out better ways to support those young Airmen and their families."


Upon arrival, each OAC member was given a folder, similar to what a military member would receive before deployment, which included a deployment tasking memorandum, a health record, fitness documentation and dog tags, just to name a few.

"We organized different mobility folders for each person with all of their training, we made dog tags, we basically gave them all the information a deployer would have so they could see exactly all the training and predeployment requirements that military members have to go through," said 1st Lt. Dominique Lewis, 55th Force Support Squadron. "We also took them through the PDF line to show them the process and how we ensure that each military member is eligible to deploy."

After receiving their folders, each member was escorted through the Passenger Travel Office where they were briefed on the amnesty box, which is a locked container where deploying members can discard any prohibited items before going through security, and the scales and how both luggage weight and body weight are recorded before going through a metal detector and taking their seats in the briefing room.

Once in the briefing room, the OAC members met with group and squadron commanders from across the wing as well as several of the Offutt partner units such as the Air Force Weather Agency. Guillot then gave an introduction describing the PDF line and why it's important for the community to know what Offutt's military members go through.

"We wanted to start with the deployment line so you can see the perspective from a military member leaving and also some reminders of what their family and friends that remain behind are going through and how we can support them while their military members are deployed," Guillot said.

Similar to what each military member goes through when deploying, the OAC members received multiple briefings. This included intelligence, which told the members where they will be going and why, medical, Airman and Family Readiness Center, which covered programs that are available to not just the members deploying but also their families, finance, legal, chapel and public affairs.

"As a civilian it is so good for use to hear and see what each Airman has to go through before they deploy," said Rita Sanders, Bellevue mayor. "The process is long, the process is grueling. It takes a lot of days, hours of their lives to be prepared and ready to go. Most civilians don't know that... [military members] have to ready at all times."

Overall, the members enjoyed the event and found it beneficial to what they do with the OAC.

"I enjoy learning about the process and how it works and how much work goes into getting people deployed," said Tom Richards, OAC member and 55th LRS honorary commander. "It's a tremendous effort to organize and get this many people out the door with everything that they need."

"I wish more people were able to see this so they can understand what [the military] does for us," said Lyle Ward, OAC member and 55th Wing director of staff honorary commander. "You sometimes forget about what they leave behind. It's going to make me more aware of what I need to do to step up for my neighbors who are military."

OAC President John Hansen along with the 55th Wing want to see more events like this in the future.

"It really gives our folks a real eye-opening experience of what goes on here at Offutt and what's involved in a deployment," Hansen said. "Hopefully we can do some things from our side and have the military members come out to see some of the things we do in our community."

The wing plans to host events with the OAC quarterly in the future. Already planned is the OAC Annual Membership meeting on May 9 and the OAC Appreciation Picnic on June 6.

"Supporting the base is the key thing, and there are a lot of things that private civilians can do that the military doesn't have the ability to do, especially raising money for the family support efforts," Richards said. "We have been very actively involved in that and hope to continue to do so."

The OAC is a non-profit organization comprised of local community and business leaders that was formed in 1992 with the purpose of building the bonds between the base and local community.