TOG 5 becomes center for PACANGEL

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Ally Day
  • 13th Air Force Public Affairs
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines --  Tactical Operations Group 5 morphed into the center of operations for Pacific Angel-Philippines scheduled to begin here Monday.

Within five hours and with the direction of members from the 36th Contingency Group, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, approximately 99 U.S. military forces took TOG 5 from a bare base to one with all the essential needs.

"The reason everything flowed so smoothly is due to preplanning," said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Lawrence Miller, 36th Mobility Response Squadron, superintendent. "During preplanning, we take time to figure out how many people we need to beddown, how many tents we will bring and how we will set up the tents."

In addition to figuring out the amount of tents required, the power source, communication, water and food have to be considered.

"Whenever the contingency response group goes out the door, we bring enough supplies to last for five days without resupply," said Miller. "For every mission, we help out by bringing what's needed."

The communication needed during the operation is the responsibility of Air Force Tech. Sgt. Allen Daley, 36th MRS flight chief of A6 and his team.

"Initially we assist with setting up the tents, but at a certain point we move to setting up reach back communication," said the Homestead, Fla. native. "We bring a SPICE (small package initial communication element) package with us, which allows for command and control operations."

His favorite part of the job, he added, is there are so many members with different jobs in his squadron yet they all work as one.

"Our 48-member squadron has 29 different career fields," said Miller. "We move in harmony, like an orchestra when we work."

Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Medina, 36th MRS, flight chief of A7 agrees with both Daley and Miller.

"When we come out, we depend on the rest of the team to make sure things go smoothly, said Medina who hails from El Monte, Calif. "We're responsible for maintaining all the beddown equipment including tents, power, showers, heating, ventilation and air conditioning."

His job is rewarding, a new experience for him and very much out of the ordinary of what he would normally be doing, he added.

More than providing the essential needs of military members, tents were also set up to provide treatment to patients for medical, dental and optometry care during PACANGEL.

"It's good to come here and be a part of PACANGEL," said Miller. "At times, when the military goes places, it's to put bullets and bombs on target, so it's always refreshing when we're called upon to assist. With our (CRG) mission being so important, we know that when we are tasked, usually lives are at stake. It's been wonderful to be here and be a part of this mission to assist the people of Albay."

Pacific Angel-Philippinesis a six-day joint and combined humanitarian assistance exercise sponsored by 13th Air Force. It provides medical, dental, optometry and engineering support to host nations' citizens. There are three more PACANGEL missions scheduled throughout the year in Laos, Vietnam and Nepal.