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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron, guides a  mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle into the cargo area of a C-17 Globemaster III at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Nov. 4, 2016. Gowen leads a small Quick Response Team comprised of five specialized aerial port personnel to provide rapid response in support of various requirements around the region. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Park)Airmen’s skills vital to the joint fight
                        
                        
                        Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron, guides a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle into the cargo area of a C-17 Globemaster III at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Nov. 4, 2016. Gowen leads a small quick response team comprised of five specialized aerial port personnel to provide rapid response in support of various requirements around the region. (Courtesy photo)
                
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        Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron, assists aerial porters with unloading a C-17 Globemaster III at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Nov. 4, 2016. Gowen is currently embedded with  the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron as he awaits transfer to a joint unit. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Park)Airmen’s skills vital to the joint fight
                        
                        
                        Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron, assists aerial porters with unloading a C-17 Globemaster III at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Nov. 4, 2016. Gowen is currently embedded with the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron as he awaits transfer to a joint unit. (Courtesy photo)
                
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        A JET/IA patch is affixed to the uniform of Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron.  The 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron is responsible for more than 300 of these Joint Expeditionary Tasking and Individual Augmentee Airmen, who are currently deployed in 10 to 12 different countries. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Andrew Park)Airmen’s skills vital to the joint fight
                        
                        
                        A JET/IA patch is affixed to the uniform of Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron. The 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron is responsible for more than 300 Joint Expeditionary Tasking and Individual Augmentee Airmen, who are currently deployed in 10 to 12 countries. (Courtesy photo)
                
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Joint expeditionary Airmen bridge service gaps in today’s fightPublished Nov. 10, 2016
                    
                    By Senior Airman Andrew Park
                    
                    
                    386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
            **SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS)  --**Trucks line up hood to bumper, resembling rush-hour traffic jams; pallets stacked with bags of rice or ammunition, sit in precise rows while armored vehicles wait to move to the flightline and join the fight. These sights may seem all too familiar for some aerial porters and loadmasters, but to one Airman, they tell a far greater story.“The story of a battle about to break out, or a conflict winding down are narrated by the type, amount, destination and urgency of cargo being processed and airlifted in and out of the aerial port terminal,” said Tech Sgt. Ronald Gowen, a logistician assigned to the 387th Air Expeditionary Squadron.Though he’s performing a standard Air Force job ensuring supplies make it to the front line, Gowen’s deployed experience is different from many other Airmen. He is assigned specifically to support non-Air Force units. His unique skills as an Airman are in high demand by sister service elements engaged in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein recently outlined his vision for a future where Airmen are called upon more and more often to work in joint environments.“It is essential we strengthen the development of Airmen who are not only steeped in the business of Airpower, but also knowledgeable in how to optimize every component as part of a Joint Task Force,” Goldfein wrote in a letter to Airmen published earlier this year.When highly specialized Airmen like Gowen are assigned to joint units engaged in Operation Inherent Resolve, the 387th AES is there to provide for their administrative care and feeding, ensuring units have a direct line back to their home service. The squadron is responsible for more than 300 joint Airmen deployed in 10 to 12 different countries, said Lt. Col. Sang Kim, the 387th AES commander.“Over the years, I think the Air Force has been doing very well and continues to grow in joint environments, providing these critical skill sets to really make an impact in the fight,” Kim said. “Our efforts supporting Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve is a prime example of our joint Airmen doing that mission.”For Airmen, working with other services can bring unique challenges. There are often miscommunications and difficulties as a result of the different cultures and languages that exist within each branch.The 387th AES helps mitigate these cultural differences by opening the lines of communication. They make it a priority to regularly meet with their Airmen’s tactical supervisors from other services in order to forge partnerships and assist with managing their personnel, explained Kim.Providing support to joint units isn’t new to many Airmen like Gowen, who has years of experience operating with other services.“Throughout my other four deployments, working alongside other sister services or allied nations was the norm,” Gowen said. “I have worked closely with the Army at a Joint Mobility Operations Center as we directed rotary wing airflow, and coordinated the fixed wing ramp operations simultaneously. I have also been a part of a seven-person team of aerial porters that deployed to Forward Operating Base Farah, Afghanistan, under Navy command to orchestrate air transport and advisory in expediting the redeployment of the Navy, Marine Corps and Army units along with the Italian Brigade personnel and equipment for base closure.” Much like the process aerial porters go through getting supplies from point A to B, the Air Force must also continue to manage joint Airmen sent to various locations, Kim said. Maintaining communication with Air Force personnel assigned to joint units around the region remains a primary focus of his unit.“We provide (our Airmen) with operational and administrative control at their geographically separated locations and ensure open communication with our team members and their joint chain of command,” Kim said. “Finally, we conduct battlefield circulations into multiple regions of the combined joint operations area to strengthen relationships and check on our (Airmen) supporting OIR’s primary mission to defeat (ISIL).”deployed 



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