JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
As Joint Base Andrews Airmen, civilians and contractors, and augmentees from across the nation return to their regular duties, Joint Team Andrews wraps up a historic support mission for the president and world leaders.
Team Andrews provided safe, effective and efficient 24-hours-a-day services in support of all arrivals and departures of heads of delegations and their staffs attending the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., Monday and Tuesday.
President Obama, transiting the base Thursday, took time to thank a gathering of Joint Base Andrews NSS workers for their important part in the success of the summit.
316th Wing/Joint Base Andrews commander Col. Steven Shepro, who greeted the president on the flight line, said the commander in chief told him, "'Team Andrews did a superb job as usual.'"
"This was a flawlessly planned event and the ultimate team effort," said Col. Lee dePalo, 316 WG vice commander. "Men and women from across Andrews AFB seamlessly integrated with our interagency partners from the Secret Service, State Department and Homeland Security, as well as local law enforcement officials, to orchestrate a world-class operation. The hard work and attention to detail by the team was an impressive thing to watch and led to the successful execution of this historic event."
Team Andrews leaders met weekly, planning and coordinating with partners in preparation for the foreign leaders' and their delegations' transit of the base.
"Working closely with the Andrews team in the planning and execution phases of the NSS was a distinct pleasure," said Dan Coker, Department of State logistics officer. "The planning meetings were well organized, quick paced and productive. The professionalism and interagency cooperation was as good as I've seen," he said. "Above all, the team flawlessly executed the arrival and departure support of one of the largest gatherings of world leaders in our nation's history. I'm proud to have been a part of the Andrews operation."
The support to delegations began in part with interactions between their staff members and Team Andrews-assigned military liaisons. These "country POCs" worked with 316th Wing Protocol and State Department officials to coordinate the arrival of each country 's on- and off-base travel, and other logistical requirements.
"I've been preparing for this arrival for about a month working jointly with the Chile Embassy as well as various units on base," said 1st Lt. Paul Bozzo, 1st Helicopter Squadron pilot and Chilean liaison. "We've worked closely with 316th Security Forces Squadron members and augmentees, 316th Wing Protocol members, 316th Mission Support Group members, base operations, U.S. Department of State as well as other federal security agents."
This initial interface was the backbone for other communications between Joint Base Andrews, each arriving leader and their delegation.
"The most important aspects of coordinating this arrival has been planning and maintaining an open line of communication with all points of contact," said Lieutenant Bozzo. "Even with so many different departments communicating with each other, they've done an exquisite job here - better than I could have ever imagined."
Central to the mission here was airfield operations.
During each arrival and departure, and at all times between, aerial operations team members ensured that each aircraft were afforded the time and space needed for passengers to safely debark and embark.
"If there are any issues in terms of aircraft such as if two are arriving at the same time, we look at our master sheet and coordinate with other units as required to try to make the arrival of each aircraft as seamless as possible," said Capt. Matthew Hopkins, 316th Operational Support Squadron airfield operations flight commander. "We also coordinate parking of each aircraft and maintain a general situational awareness of everything that is going on on the air field including keeping an eye out for any suspicious activities."
The next steps included several aircraft services.
"As a unit, we are responsible for providing stairs for each delegation's arrival and departure, the transportation of luggage from the aircraft as well as servicing each aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Michael Sullivan, 89th Aerial Port Squadron aircraft services supervisor. "The mission wouldn't have been possible without the great communication and teamwork of our unit - it's a vital part of what we do."
After deplaning, some delegation members were transported to Hangar 3, which housed United States Customs and Border Protection officers running a processing center.
"Part of our job is to interface with other agencies on the installation to let them know when members of each delegation are finished being processed," said 1st Lt. Johnny Nep, 1st Helicopter Squadron pilot and Hangar 3 operations assistant officer-in-charge. "We also facilitate any transport and escort needs delegation members may have as well as assure that they remain in the secured areas.
From base access to staging of motorcades, and from restricted area control to flight line access, 316th Security Forces Squadron members and augmentees maintained the high-level security worth of the delegations, the Airmen interacting with them and the installation as a whole.
"Our role [in part] as Security Forces members is to make sure that personnel from each delegation ... remain in the sanctioned control areas," said Airman Kara Raduenz, 316th Security Forces Squadron member. "Even though our team is comprised of members from all around the installation and we work in different groups, we all work together well. I think this operation is going along better than we had anticipated, especially since we've never had to anything like this before."
Support and resources from the 744th Communications Squadron, 316th Logistics Readiness Squadron, and the 316th Civil Engineer Squadron were foundational to success.
"The 316 CES teamed with several agencies on Joint Base Andrews to ensure a safe and successful summit," said Master Sgt. Brian Ginter, 316 CES team lead. "CE members completed 33 work orders directly supporting the NSS support mission, ranging from laying sod in front of the DV Lounge to interior work such as mounting a TV and a projector. We also erected seven tents and located 15 light carts supporting SFS staging areas."
Sergeant Ginter said other units also helped provide mission-essential materials.
"The 459th Air Refueling Wing, along with 113th Airlift Wing, provided CE with 13 light carts to meet a request," said Sergeant Ginter. "The 316 LRS supported us by refueling the 15 light carts and two generators."