All in it together: 41st Airlift Squadron

  • Published
  • By By Staff Sgt. Juan Torres
  • By Staff Sgt. Juan Torres
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  On March 11, Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, had a message for Airmen during a commander's call held at Langley AFB, Va.: "We are a family and everyone in this room counts." This is a message that the 41st Airlift Squadron lives day-to-day at Little Rock AFB. 

The 41 AS is comprised of a diverse group of military and civilian professionals who work side by side as family with the ultimate goal of fulfilling the Air Force mission. As a family, the squadron is faced with the same advantages and challenges that any other family might face. 

"We measure our operations with quantifiable data like missions flown, convoys off [improvised explosive device] laden roads, etc., but it is the intangible contributions our people bring to the fight everyday that really make the difference," said Lt. Col. Gilberto Martinez, 41st Airlift Squadron commander. "We are able to meet everyday challenges because our family values require us to look out for one another. We are committed to the success of our teammates and Team Little Rock." 

The squadron also has many of its family members blended throughout The Rock in support of the overall base mission. Members of the 41st family can be found filling duties around the base to include positions at the 19th Airlift Wing command section, the AFSO21 office, the safety office, the First Term Airmen's Center and various positions under the 19th Operations Support Squadron. 

"The amount of support this squadron provides to the base is incredible," said Senior Master Sgt. Rod O'shields, 41 AS superintendent. "I have never seen so many positions filled by one squadron." 

On April 5th, the 41st Airlift Squadron celebrated their two year anniversary of arriving at Little Rock AFB from Pope AFB, N.C., where they previously flew C-130E's. The squadron now flies the C-130J. 

"We are in a unique position due to the smaller crew sizes on the C-130Js," said Colonel Martinez. "We are fulfilling the same responsibilities as any other squadron on base but we are doing so with only about 70 percent of the manning available." 

The 41st recently came together as a family to welcome back a deployed C-130J crew. 41 AS pilots Maj. Christian Garber, Capt. Cory Waldroup, and 1st Lt. Jon Lamoreux, and loadmasters Senior Airman Leo Saunders and Senior Airman Andrew Nelson returned following a 120 day deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

"Our most recent iron swap was able to capitalize on bringing home five of our teammates from their deployment to OEF, it was possible because of the incredible support we received from many base agencies especially the 19th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and Silver AMU. The two crew chiefs that made the trip truly made it happen. They were committed to providing Combat Airlift. It is most definitely a family mindset."
Colonel Martinez said that teamwork within the Air Force family is what allows us to reach our ultimate goal. 

"We couldn't do our mission without the support of all of Team Little Rock," said Lt. Col. Gilberto Martinez, 41st Airlift Squadron commander. "The teamwork between the [Air Mobility Command], [Air Education Command] and Air National Guard units in the Team Little Rock family allows us to fulfill our overall mission: provide Combat Airlift Anywhere, Anytime!"