Since 9/11, AFSOC operational tempos have remained near wartime maximums, despite the intended drawdowns and operational terminations in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. How have the personnel within AFSOC held up in your view, along with their dependents? And do you have any ideas on how to improve the duration and quality of “dwell time” between deployments?
Yes, there have been drawdowns; however, as the lead air component for USSOCOM [U.S. Special Operations Command], AFSOC assets will always be in high demand. SOF airmen will continue to be tasked to support the challenging missions our country demands of us; this has a direct impact on our airmen and their families.
In 2012, after years of continual deployments, our people reported they were being pulled in too many directions, had zero predictability in schedules, and lacked time to accomplish all their tasks and training. To alleviate some of these issues, as a command we adopted a unit rotation model that among other things tailors support to deploying/redeploying airmen and their families.
We take the health and well-being of our people very seriously, but AFSOC is not “plagued” with health issues in our personnel returning from combat. Of course, we have a high ops tempo, and some of our people – especially our battlefield airmen – sustain injuries in the normal performance of their duties. With the implementation of the Preservation of the Force and Family initiative, and with the assistance of SOCOM and the AFMS [Air Force Medical Service], we have brought more medical and mental health resources to bear. The result is that we have a robust system that takes care of our folks whether they are at home or anywhere around the world.
You specifically asked how our personnel are holding up, but we don’t accept just “holding up!” To this end, we’ve implemented a full spectrum of resilience programs – workshops, training, pre- and post-deployment activities – using all the traditional Air Force helping agencies. In addition, our SOF warriors and their families benefit from USSOCOM’s Preservation of the Force and Family [POTFF] initiatives. We have some of the most amazing and resilient airmen serving in AFSOC and their families are simply the best – we owe them better than “holding up.”
As for your final question, we closely monitor “dwell time” and put processes in place to allow downtime with families between deployments as well as time to train and regenerate before deployment. In AFSOC, we take into consideration time away for deployment; however, for our members, if you’re not home – whether for training, deployment prep, temporary duty, or any other reason – you’re still not home. So, using the SOCOM model, we track and closely monitor any reason that would keep an airman from resting his or her head on their own pillow at night.
The USSOCOM Standard Dwell time is 1:1 – one day home for each day deployed. Ultimately, we’re also keenly aware that we need to do everything possible to take care of them now and into the future. Lastly, I am personally asking all commanders and SEAs [senior enlisted advisors] in AFSOC to watch our airmen’s leave balances very closely to ensure our people are taking their leave and getting their downtime. In many cases, we are addicted to combat and forget that we must slow down to go fast sometimes.
Throughout DOD, post-deployment health issues, both mental and physical, have been plaguing personnel returning from combat zones around the world. How big a problem is this for AFSOC, and what do you feel needs to be done to better support the personnel in your command that “need help”?
Chief Master Sgt. Matthew Caruso responds to questions May 12, 2014, in his first interview as the “senior sergeant” for the command. He returned to Hurlburt Field for his new job after recent posts at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and a tour in the Republic of Korea. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Steven Pearsall
We take the health and well-being of our people very seriously, but AFSOC is not “plagued” with health issues in our personnel returning from combat. Of course, we have a high ops tempo, and some of our people – especially our battlefield airmen – sustain injuries in the normal performance of their duties. With the implementation of the Preservation of the Force and Family initiative, and with the assistance of SOCOM and the AFMS [Air Force Medical Service], we have brought more medical and mental health resources to bear. The result is that we have a robust system that takes care of our folks whether they are at home or anywhere around the world.
For the new enlisted personnel coming into AFSOC, what do you tell them about their lives and careers ahead when you get the chance to talk to them?
When I get a chance to talk to new enlisted personnel, I tell them to have pride in every aspect of their job. They are part of an elite joint team, and should take pride in that, every time they put on their uniform and do their part for the mission. Be proud to be an airman in the Air Force and one that executes and supports the mission of USSOCOM. Our mission, to “organize, train, and equip airmen to execute global special operations” is a no-fail mission. I need our new enlisted personnel to understand teamwork and how they fit into the big picture and how critically important they are to the mission. I also ask them to be quiet professionals and remember to always bring credit and honor to themselves and their units and take care of each other in all things.