TACC commander discusses mission, manning during visit

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  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Commands Air Force-wide have felt personnel constraints at every level, and the operations center responsible for centralized command and control of Air Force and commercial contract air mobility is no different. 

But officials at the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center are finding creative ways to overcome those constraints, Maj. Gen. Mark Solo, 618th TACC commander, said during a recent visit here. 

Position vacancies, Air Mobility Command mission taskings, the need for more efficient use of fuel and the joint basing plan here were just a few of the subjects General Solo touched on during his two-day visit. 

Some Air Force units are experiencing a shortage of rated officers in stateside billets because their skills are required to execute the Global War on Terror, and the 618th TACC has felt the strain, General Solo said. 

"I get these vacancies as pilots and navigators move on to go back to flying or for other valid Air Force requirements; and in most cases I'm not getting a back fill for them," he said. "So I have to do some creative things to fill those billets that require flying experience." 

That includes bringing in skilled Airmen from the enlisted ranks. 

"We can use flight engineers, loadmasters and boom operators that have flight experience to come into the TACC and fill those vacancies," General Solo said. "And they're doing a fantastic job of it." 

The general also touched on how the need for global airlift is at an all time high, adding that AMC missions touched 170 countries this year. 

"Over the last three months we have averaged more than 900 planned sorties a day from the TACC," he said. "When you plan that many sorties a day, that represents a mobility Air Force weapons system taking off somewhere in the world every 90 seconds." 

Working with the 18th Air Force, U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command forces, the TACC uses its mission data to determine who is best postured and able to accomplish a mission, whether humanitarian or in support of the Global War on Terror. 

"There is a lot of coordination that goes on," General Solo said. "Our phone number is known far and wide. When something like a (Hurricane) Gustav or Ike happens, we may get a call directly from a state emergency action center or FEMA because they've dealt with us before." 

The 618th TACC has supported many humanitarian relief efforts around the globe. In fact, in August the Center supported the delivery of humanitarian assistance to individuals displaced by recent fighting in the Republic of Georgia. Air Force mobility Airmen delivered more than 587 tons of needed supplies, including Humanitarian Daily Rations, cots, blankets, generators, medical supplies and more. For Hurricane Gustav, the 618th TACC coordinated the movement of 8,074 evacuees, nearly 573 patients and nearly 506 tons of equipment. 

And while the cost of executing those missions has changed along with the price of jet fuel, General Solo said the 618th TACC is doing its part in teaming with the 18th Air
Force and its Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century group to try to establish and set policy to work smarter when it comes to managing the mobility fleet. 

"We are a contributor to those efforts because we're charged with receiving the requirement, planning, tasking and then executing the missions, so we have a big piece," he said. "We're doing our best to try and see where we can become more efficient." 

As for the ongoing work toward establishing the air mobility facet of Joint Base Lewis McChord, General Solo said he is confident the plan the Army and Air Force are developing will allow a seamless transformation into a joint installation. 

"We still have a mobility mission that we've got to be able to launch and recover from McChord, 24/7, 366 during leap year," he said. "The Airmen at McChord are vital to our operations, and I have no doubt they will continue to play a large role in our mobility mission during the transformation, and once those efforts are complete."