756th LRF assist active duty in Southwest Asia

  • Published
  • By Senior Airmen Ashley Crawford
  • 459th ARW Public Affairs Office
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. --  At any given moment members of the 459th Air Refueling Wing are deployed all over the world, one such Airman is Capt. Tim Bourdeau, 759th Logistics Readiness Flight logistics staff officer.

Deployed to Southwest Asia, Captain Boudeau is assigned to United States Central Command Air Forces Combined Air and Space Operations Center, air mobility section.

"My mission here is to conduct airlift planning on all CENTAF-owned airlift assets, said Capt. Bourdeau. "I'm responsible for the planning of all personnel and cargo requiring inter-theater movement in the CENTAF area of responsibility to include missions supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and the Horn of Africa."

On any given day the team will move more than 150 short-tons of cargo and develop 24 missions, booking in excess of 3,000 passengers.

"If it is moved by a CENTAF asset in-theater, we have oversight," Captain Boudeau said. "To accomplish this we actually build the missions the aircraft will fly, and then book the PAX and or cargo to the appropriate mission."

CAOC is involved with all airlifts in-theater to include tours by foreign dignitaries, congressional delegations and visits by the President of the United States.

"We have a steady flow of the key players in the War on Terrorism that pass through our halls on a daily basis," Captain Bourdeau said. "Working here, you are at the very heart of air operations in the Middle East-theater both combat and airlift."

It's a big-picture job that is challenging, but rewarding, the Captain explained.

"Every day is a memorable experience and working in this environment gives me a chance to see the news as it's being made, often days before the rest of the world knows it has happened," the Captain said. "It's challenging work, but it's rewarding, exciting and with all the sacrifices made by others in the Air Force, and even within our wing, I felt that it was time that I pulled a little of the weight myself."