Command post wins award

  • Published
  • By Gene H. Hughes
  • 908th Airlift Wing
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The Maxwell Command Post provides a number of critical services to the base, from emergency response and leadership tracking to monitoring of flight operations and alert systems. It also leads the way in Active-Reserve cooperation through combining 908th Airlift Wing and the 42nd Air Base Wing personnel into one seamless team.

Its success has been unmatched at the 22nd Air Force, where it was recently named Small Command Post of the Year.

Having a team made up of active-duty and Reserve personnel, the command post is now competing at both Air Force Reserve Command and Air Education and Training Command for MAJCOM-level, Small Command Post of The Year.

"It's a way of recognizing controller efforts individually and collectively as a team," said Staff Sgt. Melissa Carmon, one of the Reserve controllers." This recognition helps bring awareness to our groundbreaking processes and procedures. It also helps validate what we do behind the closed doors and shows us that we matter."

The command post is a 24-hour, seven-day-per-week entity that acts as an executive agent to 42nd ABW and 908th AW commanders alike.

Among the functions performed are coordinating reports to higher headquarters, facilitating flying operations, and managing all emergency operations for both Maxwell and the Gunter Annex, including computer alert notifications, base sirens and "the Giant Voice."

The facility has state- of-the-art technology that helps the Airmen receive and disseminate notifications for base leadership and personnel. As the funnel of information from higher headquarters, the equipment allows command post personnel to process and relay information in a timely matter. This allows leadership to make decisions with the most up-to-date information possible.

"In one week, we can deal with anything from several medical and fire responses to death notifications, Force Protection Condition changes, extreme weather, distinguished visitor arrivals and active shooter events to something as simple as wet-bulb temperature changes and daily flying operations," Carmon said.

The command post, operating out of a new facility, is manned by controllers managed by Master Sgt. Dawn Bridgers, the NCOIC of Console Operations. Her responsibility covers all checklists, communications equipment and all other things that pertain to console operations. There is also a training manger who makes sure all controllers are ready to take on the mission and react to any situation that arises.

Superintendent of the command post, the final decision authority who ensures all decisions reflect the "team- first" mentality, is new addition Master Sgt. Brian Lewis.

"Currently, our team has met and begun exceeding all challenges," he said. "We have fully integrated as a team, and the evidence of this is shown by 22nd Air Force recognizing us its 2011 Small Command Post of the Year."

"We work to keep the base safe while all its residents sleep," said Senior Airman Christopher Adams. "It feels good to work in a family-like environment where you can make a difference. It's fun to work where you hear and know it all."