More than 400 Idaho Air National Guardsmen with the 124th Fighter Wing deployed from Gowen Field, Idaho, to various locations in support of Operations Freedom's Sentinel, Inherent Resolve and New Normal.
This deployment marks the wing's second-largest movement and includes multiple aircraft, pilots, security forces, maintenance and medical personnel, special warfare tactical air control party airmen and various other support staff. Although the size of this deployment is historical, it is particularly notable due to its crossover with COVID-19.
"The pandemic had a severe impact on how we normally do things," said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Joseph Hupp, the installation deployment office logistics and plans superintendent with the 124th Fighter Wing. "Stop orders put in place to prevent the spread of the virus disrupted our schedules, so we had a lot of last-minute adjustments. Unit deployment managers and commanders had to remain flexible and understand that our direction could change in a matter of minutes."
The top priority of the installation deployment office is ensuring airmen are ready for departure and qualified upon their arrival in country, regardless of the hurdles that come their way. To help alleviate the majority of last-minute scrambles, airmen begin processing through medical and personnel functions, as well as completing chemical warfare and combat arms training nearly a year prior to their deployment date. However, maintaining a mental state of readiness can be difficult when deployment dates are postponed and members are under quarantine.
"They reach the apex of being prepared to go, and then we have to tell them to wait," Hupp said. "It's tricky when they're stuck at home and worried about their families. The units have to work extra hard to keep their airmen motivated and ready to move in this ever-changing environment."
Although they experienced delays due to global circumstances, the majority of airmen in the deployment package have now left Idaho, followed closely by 254 short tons of cargo.
"My team is tasked with getting all the home-station cargo to the deployed locations at the same time our people arrive," said Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Leroy Armbruster, the chief enlisted manager in the 124th Logistics Readiness Squadron. "There are a lot of steps in that process, and we've faced challenges as plans change."
Transportation of cargo, including personal goods and mission-essential equipment, is no small feat, especially for a deployment of this magnitude. Members of the 124th Logistics Readiness Squadron must divide and stage cargo according to the capacity of each aircraft involved in transport. In this case, that includes four commercial Boeing 747s and three C-5 Galaxy military transport jets.
"We start by checking the cargo to make sure it's airworthy," Armbruster said. "It has to be clean so that we don't bring dirt into another country. We open bins to make sure they're packed securely, and items aren't damaged in flight. We look for hazards, including leaks, and we weigh the cargo. We've appreciated the help from other units."
Although training, inspecting, palletizing, processing, scheduling and rescheduling are daunting tasks, Hupp and Armbruster agree that this deployment has already proven to be a success, as Airmen have shown resilience and high morale under unpredictable circumstances.
"We've been training for this for years; we just didn’t know that it would come all at once where we're called to a scheduled deployment and then faced with overcoming a pandemic," said Air Force Col. Shannon Smith, the commander of the 124th Fighter Wing. "I'm incredibly proud of this organization, and I'm proud of this state."
(Air Force Airman 1st Class Taylor Walker is assigned to the 124th Fighter Wing.)