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There are many things that can make or break the execution of a successful mission.
Although a successful operation requires plenty of planning and coordination, the cooperation does not stop when the aircraft takes off. Even military aircrews sometimes need to make a pit stop on the way to where they are going.
This is where the 313th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron comes in.
As one of the many gears in the gigantic machine of the Air Mobility Command, the 313th EOSS takes care of the AMC aircrews who stop over at Ramstein en route to deployment.
“The 313th EOSS is specifically responsible for the command and control of all the 18th Air Force mobility aircraft that touch ground here at Ramstein,” said Master Sgt. William Sage, 313th EOSS Ramstein AMC superintendent. “We provide en route command and control; we provide the aircrews with their flight packages and set them up with billeting. We alert them (of their departure) and coordinate transportation.”
Command and control is only a piece of the 313th EOSS’s total operations. Though the mission of the 313th EOSS primarily revolves around Air Mobility Command aircraft transiting through Ramstein, its operations transcend different Air Force career fields and technical specialties.
“We have aircrew flight-equipment personnel whose job is to provide life-support equipment for the (aircrew),” said Lt. Col. Lucas Jobe, 313th EOSS commander. “We also have aeromedical evacuation crew members. Their jobs are to fly on the C-17s and other aircraft … to pick up patients downrange and bring them back here.
“And then we have a cyberteam whose job is to maintain the command and control systems that the AMC uses here,” Jobe continued.
The 313th EOSS also has an intelligence team that briefs the aircrew about various security risks before going on deployment.
These flights and teams of the 313th EOSS work together to support the AMC’s aircraft on the way to deployment locations.
“For every single AMC mission which sends aircraft through Ramstein, we’re involved in making sure the crews are taken care of,” Jobe said. “We make sure they are prepared to (deploy) so they can safely operate the aircraft when they get there and that their equipment is good to go.”
Though the mission can be wide-ranging, only a small portion of the 313th EOSS are assigned as permanent party.
“We are a small squadron,” said Robert McNeal, 313th EOSS superintendent. “We’re made up of a little over 30 permanent-party personnel, and we have deployed personnel who make up the rest. … So the bulk of our personnel are deployed here.
“So we’re a true total-force integrated squadron,” McNeal continued. “We are made up of active-duty, Air National Guard and reserve units.”
Although the 313th EOSS is a small squadron, McNeal and his people cover a very large area of responsibility, including missions in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
“This is one of the busiest AMC hubs,” McNeal said. “Every aircraft that flows through here on an AMC mission, our personnel will touch (it) one way or another, whether it’s tracking the times or making sure the crews are briefed, alerted and set up for the next leg of the mission. … That couldn’t happen without our guys.
“We’re behind the scenes working to make sure the mission flows properly,” McNeal continued.
McNeal said he is confident in the ability of the 313th EOSS to provide excellent support to AMC crew members transiting through Ramstein en route to a deployment location. The command post controllers, intelligence briefers, AFE personnel, cyberteam and aeromedical evacuation members all belong to one squadron and cooperate as one unit, McNeal said.
“They’re top notch,” McNeal said. “We have a lot of people here who are eager to learn and want to be experts in their job(s). I think the sky’s the limit for where this squadron can go.”
Though the personnel of the 313th EOSS come from different units and career fields, this does not hinder them from working together as a total-force organization to accomplish the mission of providing world-class command and control, aeromedical evacuation and global mobility support for the aircrews of the AMC.
