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Reservist returns from five-month deployment

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeff Kelly
  • 315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Charleston Air Force Base --  As a stage manager for the 723rd Air Mobility Squadron, Capt. Chett Collier had his hands full for the last five months. Captain Collier, a 315th Airlift Wing reservist, has been on long-term orders since November of 2006 but will be finishing his deployment at the end of March. 

As a stage manager, it was Captain Collier's responsibility to manage a pool of eight to 12 C-17A aircrews transiting Ramstein Air Base and Spangdalhem Air Base, Germany, in order to maximize the efficiency of missions leaving these bases to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and back to the United States.
The six-person team provides 24/7 coverage and the never-ending duties can be stressful at times. 

"This is the 4th stage I have worked, and I can honestly say this was by far the most challenging," said Captain Collier. 

"The most difficult part about this particular stage has been not managing by Bravo," he added. "If I were able to put the crews legal for 'Bravo' I would have them at my disposal for the next 48 hours, but we don't use that here. Here we set a crew legal for 'Alert' which only gives us a six-hour window to use them during the next duty day. If we don't use them, we lose them." 

Unforeseen maintenance problems and foul weather can factor into what makes this six-hour window even more of a challenge for a stage manager in Germany. 

To help ease the stress of some of these challenges, one crew does sit Bravo, but local policy dictates they usually not be kept in that status for more than eight hours. This helps, but there are always other problems lurking for a stage manager. 

"Another difficult situation is when the flow of missions doesn't coincide with the crews we have available that day," said Captain Collier. 

"Occasionally we have to send a crew from one base to another stateside base to terminate their mission. It's hard on an aircrew from Charleston to end up at McChord and then have to catch a commercial flight back to Charleston. I don't want to be the one to put a crew through that, but sometimes I have to or the mission stops." 

Not everything was tough about Captain Collier's deployment to Germany, though. Overall, he truly enjoyed his experience there. 

"Ramstein was the very first place I ever went TDY (temporary duty) many years ago," he said. "Germany holds a certain sentimental value for me. Here in Germany, you are right in the middle of Europe. I love this place. I love the history and everything about it." 

When pressed further on this issue, the captain's only critical remarks were about the German winter climate. 

"My only regret is the time of year I was here," said Captain Collier. "I've had five months of drizzly and dreary weather. Now as I am leaving it is getting warmer, the days are getting longer and they are starting to fill the fountains in the town squares." 

"As an aspiring photographer I'm sorry I'll miss seeing the scenery spring back to life. I am sad to be leaving, but I will be so glad to see my wife and son."