A deployment unlike any other

  • Published
  • By Maj. Shannon Mann
  • 916th Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The following is a commentary based on the experiences of the author from early November 2009 through mid-February 2010.

Two flag draped transfer cases sat beneath a full moon at the end of a front-load Boeing 747.

It was cold on the flight line. It was serene. It is a night forever burned in my mind.

For three months I had the distinct honor of working at the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center at Dover Air Force Base, Del. It is not an assignment for the faint of heart. You see things... you hear things... you know things that most would rather not see, hear or know, but the job of caring for America's fallen warriors is a special mission and one I'm proud to have done.

As a public affairs officer deployed to AFMAO I helped the families of the fallen share the homecoming of their fallen loved one with media. Since April 2009, when the Secretary of Defense lifted the ban allowing media coverage, more than 56 percent of families opt to allow full media coverage of the dignified transfer (the solemn event held at Dover when the remains return from overseas) and nearly 80 percent allow DoD videographers to capture the return which is then made into a memorial DVD for the family.

I never saw the families from their secured position on the flight line. I never wanted to either. It was all my heart and emotions could stand to maintain military bearing as I heard the chaplain's prayer and the hushed commands to move the case and as I heard the family's sobs of pain, longing, love and loss.

As in most deployed locations you find that the people you're assigned with are some of the best in the business. I can honestly say I have a new appreciation for our Services Airmen.

Most of us know Services as handling our dining facilities, gyms and lodging; realizing they also do mortuary duties is a dot that most of us don't connect. But while Services Airmen know this is in their job description, the ones deployed to AFMAO took it even further.

Several work as part of the Air Force Carry Team - transferring cases from the plane to the waiting transfer vehicle. The carry team is similar to an honor guard, something many of the deployers have never done before, but I can honestly say that after only two weeks of training the eight Airmen assigned to the team were some of the sharpest among all the military branches.

Services personnel also took the reigns in command, control and communication. This office follows and tracks the fallen from the battlefield till their final return home. It is a high pressure job with a lot of moving parts and they do it flawlessly with no prior training.

Our Services personnel also work in autopsy, embalming, uniforms, personal effects and shipping. Emotionally these are the toughest jobs at the center, but you'd never know it based on the number of times some reservists return. I met people from all across Air Force Reserve Command that were on their fourth, eighth and even twelfth tour at AFMAO! All of them said the mission was a higher calling for them and all were extremely proud and humbled that they had a role in returning the fallen to their families.

I am thrilled to be home now and I hug my kids a bit tighter at night, as I'm sure most redeployers do. Many of my deployments have a special place in my memory, but this deployment above all has a place in my heart...for those I served, those I served with and those left behind.