Joint Base Andrews, Md –
Like the composers and musicians of an orchestral production, the men and women of Joint Base Andrews played important roles in staging the welcome of a large number of foreign nationals entering and leaving the U.S.
Twenty-seven aircraft landed at JBA July 30 - Aug. 4 carrying 28 heads of state en route to the first-ever U.S. - Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C.
"We all have to be on the same sheet of music, we all have to be talking and providing our pieces of the puzzle," said Lt. Col. Michelle Van Court, 11th Mission Support Group deputy commander and JBA project leader for the ALS movements here. "The amount of moving pieces involved in this event requires total coordination and communication."
More than five months in the planning, the arrival and departure procedures included the collaborative efforts of more than a dozen JBA organizations in conjunction with the Department of State, Secret Service, Customs and Border Patrol, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Army, Air Mobility Command, Federal Aviation Administration, AAFES and US STRATCOM.
In the earlier stages of development, Van Court reached out to various units here for people willing to help organize such a large scale movement of aircraft and visitors.
"Van Court put out a request to all agencies that she thought would have a key part for volunteers to attend a working group meeting," said Amber Morris, 11th Wing Plans and Programs program analyst and JBA assistant project leader. "We've met every week and through the experience and expertise of the group it's all coming together."
Prior to the event, many elements of the operation had to be put in place to ensure ease of communication between the major working groups and visitors. Considerations also had to be made for the various languages spoken by the visitors.
"The 844th Communications Group has been providing support to ensure the command control is set up in the different trailers for the event," Van Court said. "The 11th Force Support Squadron pulled assets from the entire National Capital Region, so we have seven different linguists for seven different countries. They are basically teamed with a point of contact from each country."
Upon arrival, planning where to park the incoming aircraft required orchestration between many units as well.
"The 89 Airlift Wing and all of the subordinate units have been working day and night to make sure the planes are where they need to be parked," Van Court said. "The [113th Wing] Air National Guard and 1st Helicopter Squadron are also allowing us to park on their ramps."
So how does an installation manage the large-scale movement of nearly 30 aircraft on their given day of arrival? It takes a great deal of coordination Morris said.
"The 89 AW Protocol, 11 WG Command Post and FAA monitor the inbound aircraft and notify the Command and Control Center at which time the protocol officers, greeters, and motorcade move into position," Morris said. "The aircraft lands, the distinguished visitor comes off the plane and the greeter from JBA, along with protocol, greets that person, who then gets into the motorcade."
All the while, according to Morris, members of the 11th Security Forces Group and Secret Service present a posture of security while safely escorting the motorcade off the installation. Concurrently, the 11th Logistics Readiness Squadron transports the crews and passport teams to Customs and Border Protection for in-processing. Also, 11 WG Public Affairs escorts and stages media members to record the arrivals and departures of the dignitaries. The 779th Medical Wing is on standby in the event of a medical emergency and, lastly, the 89 AW repositions the aircraft into its parking location on the flightline for servicing and refueling.
"It's amazing to see all of those presidents from foreign countries in such a short time span," said Senior Master Sergeant Cameron Davis, 89th Aerial Port Squadron superintendent. "Our folks are professionals though, so it doesn't really matter who is on the plane. We're going to do our job with excellence every single time. "
In its culmination, the final production was successful through the cohesive and organized efforts of JBA team players and outside agencies. Overall, the mission of ensuring 28 distinguished visitors landed safely, were en route to their destination and their aircraft is secure and ready for departure after the summit was accomplished through team unity.
"We could not do this safely without working together," Van Court said. "All the different players singing in the same key of music."