55th RQS leaves for deployment

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christine Griffiths
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The 55th Rescue Squadron deployed to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan Sept. 29.

Training is a crucial part of an Airman's deployment. It prepares them for the duties the will perform down range.

"We have spin-up training, during which we fly with our downrange crews," said Capt. Will Meister, 55th RQS chief of mobility. "We practice all our mission sets in conditions as similar as we can mimic to what we will see downrange."

Many Airmen look forward to deploying. It gives them the chance to use the training they've learned from their home base at their deployed location. Even though this is Captain Meister's third deployment, he still is looking forward to contributing to the mission.

"I'm excited to contribute down range; we're all excited to," Meister said. "Our contributions are bringing lifesaving capabilities to the battle field the best we can."

As deployment time gets closer, Airmen and their family members should practice proper operations security in the months leading up to a deployment.

Operations security is something we use to prevent an enemy from obtaining critical information about operations.

Posts on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social networking site dealing with mission-critical information, such as the specific date a spouse is leaving for a deployment, can be detrimental to the mission.

Here are some of the ways to prevent any threats using proper OPSEC actions.
-Do not post specific dates of deployments or timelines
-Do not post deployed bases or units, but posting countries deployed to is okay.
-Do not post unit sizes and activities
-Do not post unit Army Post Office or Fleet Post Office addresses.

Also, while deployed, Airmen should keep in mind of what they're posting.
-Watch what information could be shown in photos and the metadata (information inscribed, such as GPS locations) posted with photos. This can be a huge advantage for the enemy.
-Make sure you do not post classified info and activities going on or surrounding the deployed location.

For any questions about what information should or should not be posted, please contact the XP office at 228-1019.