733rd AMS provides critical joint partner support in Pacific

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jamie Powell
  • USAF Expeditionary Center
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David L. Goldfein has continuously stressed the importance of Airmen engaging in joint training and operations to be better prepared to face future challenges.

Airmen with the 733rd Air Mobility Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan, are gaining that experience every day as they work closely with their joint partners throughout Okinawa.

Maj. Gen. Christopher Bence, USAF Expeditionary Center commander, and USAF EC Command Chief Master Sgt. Larry Williams gained a better understanding of the 733rd AMS mission during an immersion tour at Kadena AB on Aug. 23.

“We really try and understand the emerging requirements of [our joint partners], said Maj. Robert Rabon, 733rd AMS director of operations. “We strive to be approachable, adaptable and flexible to each of their needs as they change in this dynamic theater and on this dynamic battlefield.”

More than 250 Airmen are assigned to the 733rd AMS, and they’re tasked with providing mobility, command and control, aerial port services and en-route maintenance to joint units moving through Okinawa.

One of those joint units is the Marine Corps’ 3rd Transportation Support Battalion, which supports all transportation for the III Marine Expeditionary Force in the Pacific.

“We'd be fools to not integrate with the 733rd [AMS], and we do that to get a bigger bang for the buck,” said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matthew Mulvey, 3rd TSB commanding officer. “We recently had 800 Marines and Sailors swap out in three to four hours. What the 733rd [AMS] and our team made seem really easy, couldn't have been done without the relationship we have now.”

Another joint partner 733rd AMS Airmen support is the Army’s 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Regiment. The Soldiers regularly deploy throughout the Pacific to support Pacific Command requirements and rely on the 733rd AMS to support their operations.

“We rely heavily on the 733rd [AMS Airmen] to load and unload equipment,” said Army Maj. Juene Raedar, 1-1 ADA. “They are a great team of professionals and have truly helped us build our partnerships up.”

The Army and Marines aren’t the only ones who rely on the 733rd AMS – their fellow Airmen in the 353rd Special Operations Support Squadron do, as well.

“We're the focus of the special operations aviation piece in the Pacific. We can fly anywhere within 24 hours,” said Lt. Col. Troy Broskovetz, 353rd SOSS commander. When preparing for a short-notice tasking, “we don't always know what we're going to do or take until the situation develops, and that makes it really challenging for the 733rd [AMS].”

After the EC leadership team recently took part in Exercise Mobility Guardian, Air Mobility Command’s large-scale air mobility exercise, Williams saw the importance of developing good relationships with joint partners to a mission’s success.

“That [cohesiveness] can all be crippled by bad relationships, and I think it's awesome that everyone in this room is communicating well and working together,” Williams said.