News

Civilian employers learn about Air Force Reserve, wing mission

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Madelyn McCullough
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
McChord Field, Wash. --  On one of the first sunny days of the year here May 4, the 446th Airlift Wing hosted Employer Orientation Day to demonstrate to employers the mission of the wing and the responsibilities Reservists have in their Air Force Reserve jobs.

The goal was to give the employers a better understanding of what the Air Force Reserve and 446th AW's mission is and the critical role employers have in enabling their Reserve employees to accomplish it, according to Lt. Col. Anna Sullivan, 446th AW Public Affairs.

"We have employer day to give employers a feel for what it is Reservists do," said Col. Eric Johnson, 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron operations flight commander.

If employers didn't know what they let Reservists leave for when they have to leave for weeks, months or years, they wouldn't want to let them go, Johnson said. This tour lets them know that what their Reservists do here is very important.

This employer day differed from those in the past, with a new program highlighting the medical mission within the wing. 

Instead of flying, the employers walked through displays set up in Hangar 12, home of the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron. Other displays on hand included aerial port, explosive ordnance disposal, emergency management, security forces and the chaplain.

The employers watched several demonstrations on a static C-17 Globemaster III, including the work done by aeromedical evacuation squadron Airmen.

The displays familiarized employers with things like the equipment used by Reservists to protect themselves from chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear attacks, explosive ordnance disposal techniques, fire protection gear, and behavioral health information.

The demonstrations illustrated what it looks like when aeromedical evacuation and aeromedical staging teams work together to safely transport a patient from the ground to an aircraft hospital. The employers also got to see security forces' Raven team secure the aircraft and an aerial port cargo team load a Humvee onto the C-17.

Throughout the tour, the Reservists eagerly answered the many curious questions employers asked.

"It's easy to talk about things that you do," Johnson said. "(The Reservists) have done it in deployed circumstances, so it comes easy to them. They don't have to make anything up or read something; it was their life for a long time and it still is."

Though the employers didn't get to experience the C-17 in flight, they got to see the day-to-day operations and training of many of the 446th AW squadrons, which gave them a real understanding of the amount of work it takes to achieve mission success, according to Sullivan.

"I watched their faces and they were interested in everything that went on," said Johnson. "They liked playing with the explosive devices, they liked listening to conversations about how you detect biological weapons or radioactive risks, they liked going on the aircraft and walking around."

Many employers enjoyed the opportunity to learn so much about their Reservist employee's second profession.

For Dawn Craig of Smokey Point Distributing, it was an eye-opener seeing Reservists do their job. She said she gained a new appreciation of what her employee, Tech. Sgt. Ethan Magill, 446th Maintenance Squadron, has to do each Reserve weekend.

"We see planes flying or we see things on the news, but we don't realize the ins and outs of what goes into the Air Force Reserve," she said. "Coming down here really helps and everyone should do it."

The next 446th AW Employer Orientation Day will be on the primary UTA in October.