For the first time, 18th Air Force's expeditionary C-17 squadron has deployed with airmen from all five active-duty C-17 wings.
"A natural tendency is to believe this new deployment process will affect unit cohesion, however, our deployed personnel are extremely professional and see themselves more as mobility airmen and not individual squadron members," said Chris Rosenthal, 18th Air Force Operations Analyst and Programmer.
Currently deployed to Southwest Asia, the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is made up of airmen from Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Dover Air Force Base, Delaware; Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; and Travis Air Force Base, California.
"The 816th EAS is a deployed squadron, not a CONUS-based squadron that deployed," Chris Rosenthal, 18th Air Force operations analyst and programmer, said in an email. "In the past it was made up of a mix of members from different bases, however the bulk of members came from either McChord or Charleston due to the larger pool of personnel and aircraft."
The squadron deployed on July 25, Rosenthal said. The new method allows the five active-duty C-17 squadrons in the U.S. to keep enough airmen at home station for training and other missions, and to give airmen leave.
"While the 816th EAS is currently 18th Air Force's only expeditionary squadron, the Air Force has other expeditionary squadrons deployed around the world that use a similar construct of blending individuals and teams," Rosenthal said.
Active-duty airmen are selected by their units for rotations with the 816th EAS, he said. Airmen from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve will soon be able to volunteer to deploy with the squadron.
"In order to ensure we continue the great relationships we have with our Guard and Reserve force, we broadcast opportunities to them, and their airmen volunteer through their respective chains of command," Rosenthal said.
Previously, a single C-17 squadron would deploy downrange, taking the majority of crews as well as overhead staff, he said. Over time, McChord and Charleston assumed the bulk of the deployments because they have several C-17 squadrons, while Travis, McGuire and Dover have one squadron each.
"Therefore in the past more personnel were deployed from the larger wings," Rosenthal said.
