McChord Field Lieutenant excels as JET Airman in Iraq

Published May 5, 2010
By Master Sgt. Dwayne Gordon
AFCENT Public Affairs

Al Asad Air Base, Iraq -- U.S. Air Force 1st Lieutenant Timothy Underwood, currently assigned to the 62nd Aerial Port Squadron, is directly working for the Navy in the Base Command Group (BCG) at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. The BCG functions as the Mayor Cell which performs Base Operating Support and Integration (BOS-I) functions which supports a current base population of over 8,600 personnel with the surge capacity to support 20,000.

Lieutenant Underwood trained with U.S. Army soldiers for 30 days at Fort Dix, N.J. to prepare for his deployment to Al Asad Air Base. He was tasked to fill a Joint Expeditionary Tasking, which meant he would more than likely be working with Army, Navy or Marine counterparts and not other Air Force personnel.

"My Expeditionary Combat Skills Training with the Army helped prepare me for my deployment," said Lieutenant Underwood, transportation officer for the Base Command Group. "When I arrived here, I found out that I would not only be working with the Army, but the Navy as well; therefore, I had to learn Navy acronyms, terminology, processes and culture in addition to the Army's."

"I spend a lot of my days creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that will ultimately be approved and put into effect by the BCG commander," said Underwood. "These SOPs will help streamline the transportation management process while improving the efficiency and responsiveness of transportation support for both permanent party and transient personnel transitioning through the base."

Al Asad is playing a major role in the drawdown of U.S. military forces out of Iraq. There are plans for 30,000 military personnel to transit the installation throughout the summer.

"Soldiers will not be arriving all at one time, they will come in waves," said Underwood. "The BCG is working hard to streamline the process to ensure that soldiers are comfortable and have the required support during their short stay before they redeploy from Iraq."

Working in a joint environment is nothing new for Air Force personnel. JET taskings are used by the Air Force to assist its sister services in positions where they may have shortages.

"Although my direct supervisors and subordinates are all Navy, I don't even realize that I'm the only Airman," said Lt. Underwood. "My Navy counterparts are a great group of professionals and quickly made me feel part of the team as soon as I arrived."

"Lieutenant Underwood is a great asset to the BCG in execution of the Mayor Cell staff functions," said U.S. Navy Capt. Douglas Heady, Base Command Group commander. "Joint working environments are great because they bring together expertise from different military services to support a common goal or mission."

Lieutenant Underwood is one of many Airmen filling JET positions throughout Iraq. The U.S. Air Force continues to show its dedication as combat Airmen and denote its role as joint partners.