By 2nd Lt. Dustin Hart
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AMCNS) - When Army and Marine units receive orders to deploy, a small group of Air Force officers are often called upon to turn their sister services' air mobility needs into reality.

These representatives, known as Air Mobility Liaison Officers, are experienced rated officers permanently based with Army and Marine units around the world. They are tasked with providing expert air mobility advice and to act as a liaison between that unit and Air Force mobility specialists.

"We are the bridge between our aligned units and (Air Mobility Command)," said Lt. Col. Chris "Doc" Campbell, an AMLO with the Army's XVIII Corps at Fort Bragg, N.C. "We know the places in their mission where airlift can make the difference between failure and success-be it deployment, employment, resupply or getting back home."

The colonel said that while AMLOs provide airlift expertise to their aligned units, one of their greatest values is their ability to give expertise on Army and Marine needs to AMC, through an airlifter's point of view.

Lt. Col. Steven Kavookijian, an AMLO with the 75th Infantry Regiment, an Army Ranger unit at Fort Benning, Ga., compared the job to being the "grease on the natural friction that occurs between the Army and Air Force when they meet at the operations level."

When their home unit deploys, the AMLOs pack their bags and travel alongside, often making them the first air mobility "boots on the ground" at a deployed airfield, said Maj. Pete Mastroianni, Air Mobility Command's chief of Tactical Airlift Control Element operations and AMLO functional manager. This allows them to provide initial feedback of the conditions of the airfield to AMC officials.

AMLOs are where the "rubber meets the road," living and breathing Army and learning the different ways it conducts business, said Capt. R.C. "Archie" DeJesus, an AMLO for the Army's V Corps in Heidelberg, Germany. Having that knowledge helps AMLOs translate the Army's needs into what the Air Force can provide.

Their recent performances in Iraq and Afghanistan have proved just how valuable this small group is. The current conflicts have shown that the AMLOs' ability to effectively manage and coordinate airlift between the other services and Air Force mobility assets can be critical.

Lt. Col. Donald Koehler, an AMLO with the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., deployed for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and saw firsthand the importance of his job.

Colonel Koehler was instrumental in coordinating one of the first resupply airdrops to troops in Afghanistan. He also played a large role in getting airlift into Mosul, Iraq, by helping develop the airfield there to accommodate both U.S. and coalition aircraft.

While deployed with the V Corps during OIF, Captain DeJesus was instrumental in coordinating the development of airfields throughout Iraq, including Baghdad International Airport, Tallil and Ballad.

Contributions like these have made AMLOs very valuable to their sister service unit commanders, who rely on their liaison officers to serve as a vital link to air mobility assets.

"I would have given up an Army field grade (officer) before I would have parted with (Maj. Daniel) Vasenko," said Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, the current commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, of the performance of his AMLO while he was commander of Combined Task Force 82 in Afghanistan.

Major Vasenko, who is currently aligned with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, played a vital role in opening two remote assault landing strips while deployed with CTF 82.

This recognition of the recent performances by AMLOs has also led to many of the airmen returning from their deployments with major decorations from their sister service units, including several Bronze Stars, Major Mastroianni said.

In addition to coordinating their host unit's air mobility needs, AMLOs have played large roles in helping AMC's Assessment Teams and TALCEs when they arrive to develop and open airfields.

"Being on the ground as the first eyes on the target made coordinating the arrival of the assessment teams better," Major Mastroianni said. "When the assessment teams showed up to open an airfield, having an AMLO there to serve as a familiar Air Force face and to be a coordination point with the other services made the assessments go a lot smoother and faster."

Although the AMLOs have re-emerged during the Global War on Terror, the primary jobs they perform are not that much different than the Air Mobility Command Liaison Officers and Theater Airlift Liaison Officers of the past.

Major Mastroianni said the biggest difference in today's career field is that AMLOs perform their jobs on a much larger scale than the small theaters the AMCLOs and TALOs were assigned to.

"If it carries more than two people, has four engines, and is doing transport missions, AMLOs will get their noses into it," he said. "They work all airlift, whether it comes from in theater or from the (United) States. They coordinate and act as a liaison between all the agencies involved."

The name change from AMCLOs, liaison officers aligned with Marine units, and TALOs, those aligned with Army units, to the unified AMLOs has served other uses as well, said Colonel Campbell.

The change helped to unify the group and highlight the similar skills provided to both the Army and Marines, he said. It also helped establish the group as an AMC asset instead of its previous association with Air Combat Command's Air Support Operations groups and squadrons.

AMC officials are developing formal Air Force regulations to govern the group and are also looking at consolidation.

There are only 43 AMLOs stationed at 26 locations around the world. AMC controls 30 AMLOs, while nine are assigned to Pacific Air Forces and four are assigned to U.S. Air Forces Europe. AMC officials hope to consolidate all AMLOs under the command, Major Mastroianni said.

Because of the small number of AMLOs and the increasing demand of their services, the major said there would likely be a need for more of the qualified officers in the future.

"The AMLO community is ideally suited for a 'free-thinker' who is confident in his or her abilities as an officer and is self-motivated to learn about the other services' cultures," said Maj. Michael Turley, instructor of the AMLO Qualification Course at Little Rock AFB, Ark. "It provides opportunities to influence decisions at a leadership level and see the results immediately executed at the lowest levels. It is immensely satisfying and incredibly humbling."

To be qualified as an AMLO, officers must be rated as a pilot or navigator with mobility experience. The jobs are volunteer positions and are considered special-duty assignments. Candidates are selected by the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas.