Command Post duty leaves no room for error

  • Published
  • By Lori Burling Alves
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, assistant staff writer
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  "Exercise, Exercise; this is an Exercise!
The Incirlik community hears the ring of alarms and directives that follow every now and again--but they never see the voice behind the microphone. That voice is part of the 39th Air Base Wing Command Post, a team that is the key to the command and control of the entire base.

"We're the eyes and ears of Col. Philip McDaniel, 39th Air Base Wing commander," said Tech. Sgt. Chris Black, 39th ABW Command Post noncommissioned officer in charge of training. "We take information and inputs from higher headquarters and first responders and compile it for the wing commander. Colonel McDaniel then notifies us of any actions he wants taken."

The command post is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week and its staff is notified of all incidents affecting the base--anything from car crashes in Adana involving Airmen to bombings and protests occurring near or around the base. Because of this, command post controllers have direct access to the wing commander.

"We are responsible for giving commanders all the information they need to make decisions," explained Sergeant Black.

"I cannot make informed decisions without accurate information," said Colonel
McDaniel. "I rely on the command post team and my squadron and group commanders to provide me with the tools to make an educated assessment of the situation. This constant communication is critical to the success of the mission."

The effectiveness of this command and control mechanism will be evaluated during the upcoming surety inspection.

"We're a key player in the NSI. Anything that triggers base-wide participation is going to come in through us," said Sergeant Black.

Command post controllers endure a strenuous certification process, and although every Air Force base has a command post, the certification process may differ somewhat depending on the mission. At Incirlik, each of the 15 command post Airmen must be interviewed by the wing commander and score at least 90 percent on four tests. Each Airman is given only one opportunity to score a passing grade on the test, which includes questions about handling classified information, said Sergeant Black. These tests will play an intricate part of the inspection, as each member of the command post will undergo a classified test from inspectors.

"Our performance on this test sets the tone with the inspectors," said Sergeant Black who will take the test on the first day of the NSI.

The surety mission is the most important thing we do at Incirlik, said Senior Master Sgt. Timothy Petersen, 39th Air Base Wing Command Post superintendent.

"There is no room for error," he emphasized "Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, we're monitoring the communications systems that go straight to the highest levels of our country's leadership".