Military

457th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs 

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (USAFENS) -- Active duty and Reserve airmen are working side by side and facing the same challenges of wartime at this forward operating location.

Air reserve technicians from the 917th Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., work in tandem with their active duty counterparts as members of the 5th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron Munitions Flight.

Observing the munitions flight in all areas of operation, it's impossible to tell who's active and who's reserve, except for the patches they wear on their uniforms.

Back home, ARTs do the same jobs as regular bluesuiters. However, they serve as civilian employees, except during their drill periods - one weekend per month and two weeks per year.

"My job in peacetime is the same as my job upon activation - to train and prepare traditional reserve members to perform their wartime duties," said Master Sgt. Joel Estes, senior munitions controller here. "During the rest of the time, we're supporting the 917th Wing's munitions flight providing weapons for training."

The 917th Wing is a combined wing, equipped with A-10 Thunderbolts and B-52s.

"Our mission at Barksdale (AFB) provides our people the unique opportunity of being able to train on both fighter and bomber assets at the same time," Estes said. "Most people spend their reserve career on one or the other, but rarely both. It's the perfect training environment for our traditional reserve members."

This training is valuable to the total-force concept, which blends active duty, guardsmen and Reserve members into one team.

As a deployed member here, ARTs bring their experience and knowledge to the fight, according to Estes.

The only difference, according to Senior Master Sgt. Clinton Cates, night-shift supervisor, is the job satisfaction that comes with being deployed.

"Our mission here, in ways, is much more rewarding than the day-to-day," he said. "The pace is quicker and ever flowing, so it keeps you on your toes."

Estes agrees. "The stress level is more intense and the hours are longer, but there's a great feeling of accomplishment," he said. "Being a part of any contingency is the only way we realize the true magnitude of our training."

"Everyone here is working toward a common cause," Cates added.

That cause is the munitions effort. The Reservists are involved in every aspect of the effort - from receiving and coordinating to controlling and building bombs.

Tech. Sgt. Todd Cummings, who normally works storage and handling back home, is using his experience as a Reservist on the pad to build munitions, the most hands-on job in ammo.

"Being here, and building the bombs, is as close as you can get to the mission," he said. "This is what we train for."

Cummings is on his second deployment in six months. The Air Force activated airmen from the 917th in September 2002 for a 90-day rotation to support Operation Enduring Freedom.

In addition, the service mobilized more than 176,000 members of the reserve component to support the war on terrorism at home and abroad, according to the Department of Defense. Although deployment rotations for the Reserves have been heavy, the value of ARTs is evident, according to one active-duty senior NCO.

"The blending of active duty and reserve airmen has been seamless," said Chief Master Sgt. Ricky Quattlebaum, munitions flight chief. "They are using their skills and raising the experience level of the flight. This makes us, as a whole, that much better."