Luke ATO supports Marine redeployment

Published Nov. 18, 2011
By Senior Airman Myra Dougharty
56th Logistics Readiness Squadron

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- The 56th Logistics Readiness Squadron Air Terminal Operations center aided a contingent of redeploying Marines who arrived in November at Luke Air Force Base for decompression, the third Marine mission the ATO center has supported.

During the decompression phase, the center coordinated the transport of baggage and personnel, vehicles and operators from one location to another.

Staff Sgt. Maurice Hill, 56th LRS Airlift Operations NCO-in-charge, said they are the primary focal point of all air travel and their function is to transport passengers and cargo to and from deployed locations.

For this mission, they handled solely the in-transit visibility, which helped the Marines track flight details, personnel and cargo for arrival at their home station.

According to a Marine Corps spokesperson, they were very appreciative of Luke for the support rendered. He said that everyone was helpful and couldn't speak more highly of all the aiding aspects provided.

If a unit is to arrive at Luke by air, it is ATO's mission to carry out the task of completing the logistical aspect.

"Supporting redeployments for the Marines definitely shows we are a unified military and shows how we need each other to fight global contingencies," Hill said.