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38th APS goes hands on in Hickam

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rashard Coaxum
  • 315AW PA
More than 30 airmen from the 38th Aerial Port Squadron at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., departed from Charleston Friday to complete their annual tour training here at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

Teaming up with the 735th Air Mobility Squadron, the APS airmen are set to provide aerial port support for the 735th AMS during their two-week training.

These Port Dawgs will get to accomplish career field advancement tasks, skill level upgrade training as well as some gaining valuable first time hands on training, said Senior Master Sgt. James Mack, the assistant noncommissioned officer in charge of the trip.

"We have a lot that needs to get done on our tour here this year," he said. "Our Airmen will get real world and live training in cargo build up, ramp services and passenger service operations."

Mack, the 38th APS load planning supervisor and aerial port veteran, stressed how important and critical that training is for the 38th APS.

"For us reservists, this is some of the best, and maybe some of the only training we will get outside of a deployed environment," he said. "We have to train and perform at a high level here so when we are deployed, integration would be seamless."

For Staff Sgt. Everett Hopkins, a special handling journeyman with the 38th APS, the words from Mack ring truer than ever as he reflects on the short and long term benefits he will receive from the training opportunity.

"This training with the 735th AMS will be great for everyone, but especially me. In August I'll be heading off to hazardous materials school where I'll get to apply the things I'm already learning from the 735th AMS to what I'll learn in the classroom," he said.

"This type of live hands on training is sometimes rare for us reservists outside of being deployed, so integrating and learning new policies and processes from the active duty will make things so much more efficient in the field," he said. "This is second nature for active duty and we're training to make it second nature for us reservists as well."

735th AMS commander Lt. Col. Larry Nance also acknowledged how important the joint force effort is to both the active duty and reserve forces.

The tours are huge for training for both the active duty and reserve because there's no way the active duty could complete their mission without reserve support, he said.

Nance, a veteran C-5 Galaxy pilot, said that he knows that the two-week tours would be a challenge for the Airmen, but that he expected great things from it.

"There are three things I hope you get from your time here with the 735 AMS," he said. Make this a reunion for the people you have worked with and been deployed with before, make sure you're productive and getting the training you need, and finally let's work at building the next generation of Airmen."