A small group of experts continues to work around the clock at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, overseeing Air Mobility Command's contribution to Defense Department operations in the COVID-19 pandemic fight and arming mobility airmen with clear guidance on executing operations safely and effectively.
''We've been sprinting since [Air Force Gen. Maryanne Miller, the AMC commander] activated our CBS on March 4,'' said Air Force Maj. Gen. Samuel ''Bo'' Mahaney, AMC chief of staff.
''With clear instruction to provide a single, 24/7 cell of experts who can ensure uninterrupted rapid global mobility amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, these experts have produced more than 40 battle staff directives that offer guidance to our airmen on everything from aircraft decontamination to patient movement to timely reporting of COVID-19 cases on our installations,'' Mahaney said. ''With masks donned, these unsung heroes inside the CBS have toiled around the clock to ensure we continue to help those in need during these difficult times.''
Under Mahaney's direction and led by a colonel, the CBS is composed of civilian and military experts from across the headquarters staff, representing an array of specialties such as medical, logistics, operations, public affairs, security and liaisons from AMC's 618th Air Operations Center, to name a few. This collaborative team has provided expertise, networking and unique perspectives to solving problems, answering urgent tasks and disseminating time-critical information.
Early on, the CBS anticipated a shift toward virtual operations. When the governor of Illinois announced a statewide shelter-in-place order March 20, the team was already postured for the shift.
''Once Scott Air Force Base followed suit by implementing reduced manning operations, the CBS adjusted accordingly to protect the mission-essential personnel who continue to maintain a physical presence in work centers,'' said Air Force Col. John Platte, one of the first CBS directors to lead daily operations. ''To remain connected while abiding by social distancing procedures, we've done whatever [was] necessary to maintain robust communications across the battle staff and headquarters while keeping our people safe, to include staggered shifts and utilizing teleconference calls, collaboration platforms and other technology.''
As the CBS manages operations and responds to a steady flow of requests for information, several operational planning teams and working groups have labored away in adjacent rooms to develop in-depth plans and options for some of the more complex mobility issues AMC has faced during the pandemic.
''The CBS has been, and continues to be, critical to providing operational planning teams and working groups with information,'' said Air Force Col. Russel Frantz, who provided subject matter expertise to a team focused on aeromedical evacuation. ''This data was used to plan for and execute AMC's first Transport Isolation System patient movement, work contracts for the next-generation airborne isolation system known as the Portable Bio-Containment Module, and help leadership understand COVID-19 impacts to training and readiness.''
Among its more pressing tasks, the CBS was directed early on to develop guidance on how to continue conducting cargo and passenger movement and aeromedical evacuation missions in and through high-risk areas while remaining mindful of the growing risk that contagious passengers or patients might be aboard those missions.
''Our 24/7 OPTs have provided solutions on a variety of issues, including aircraft decontamination and the movement of contagious patients onboard pressurized, military aircraft,'' Frantz said. ''We've developed similar guidance and procedures before on a limited basis during contingencies like the 2014 Ebola outbreak, but never of this scale and scope. Our detailed plans and directives have allowed AMC to continue to conduct airlift and [aeromedical evacuation] missions across the globe in support of the joint force, our partners and allies.''
Under the direction of Air Force Brig. Gen. Joel Jackson, AMC deputy director for operations, and operational planning group director Air Force Col Scott Minton, the CBS and its supporting operational planning teams helped to plan and establish a Transport Isolation System operation staged out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Additionally, within hours of the CBS publishing an operational planning team effort to develop AMC's patient movement plan, a C-17 Globemaster III aircrew and medical support specialists stepped to their aircraft at Ramstein in the dark of night – with patient movement plan in hand – to execute the first operational employment of the system and the first movement of COVID-19 positive patients aboard a pressurized military aircraft.
The April 10 AE mission validated the efforts of the AMC planners who designed Transport Isolation System operations and the patient movement plan by safely transporting three infected U.S. contractors from Afghanistan to Ramstein. They are now receiving care at nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
''I'm immensely proud of what these airmen have done through around-the-clock operations,'' Mahaney said. ''Working long hours with a sense of urgency, their efforts providing guidance and resources to keep our AMC airmen safe as they carry out the mobility mission across the globe, from passenger terminal specialists checking those seeking to fly aboard our gray tails, to security forces airmen checking identification at the gate.''
As guidance is provided by the CBS, AMC units often provide formal and real-time feedback to the CBS director so they can revise to better meet the needs of the force. ''The men and women out executing the guidance we provide are our eyes and ears,'' said Air Force Col. Patrick Winstead, who pulled 10 shifts as CBS director. ''We depend on their feedback to make sure what we are providing is conducive to mission success.'' He added that overall, feedback has been constructive and positive.
Though the duty hours may have changed for some, a constant state of readiness is nothing new to mobility airmen. AMC routinely responds to emerging requirements for airlift across the globe so the command is poised to support the whole-of-government effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
''It is crucial we keep everything moving across the globe,'' Mahaney said. ''Mobility airmen continue to safely execute rapid global mobility, and Headquarters AMC is no exception. We’re doing everything possible to ensure our airmen on the ground and in the skies are able to still conduct mobility operations in light of the elevated risk COVID-19 presents to our airmen and operations.''
(Air Force 2nd Lt. Emma Quirk is assigned to Headquarters Air Mobility Command.)