SOUTHWEST ASIA - Master Sgt. Alex Brown will tell you that it's pretty tough to complete deployed missions if you don't have the supplies to do it.
That's why he's deployed, to keep the men and women of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing fully geared up to complete their deployed operations.
"The materiel management, or supply, career field is directly responsible for sustaining the warfighter," said Brown, who serves as superintendent of the "Desert Depot," otherwise known as the base supply store. "Whether it is guns and gas masks, aircraft and vehicle parts, or pens and paper - without any logistical support our planes, cargo and people who move the mission would be at a standstill."
Brown is a career material management Airman deployed with the 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. He is deployed from the 161st Air Refueling Wing at Phoenix Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base, Ariz.
In his career field, he's required to maintain qualification in preparing and maintaining documentation and records associated with inventory management actions, his official Air Force job description shows. His job skills also include issuing and transferring property, conducting inventories and segregating and preparing property for storage as well as identifying items and condition of property.
As a superintendent, he's also required to maintain mandatory experience in supervisory functions such as establishing and maintaining reporting and management procedures for stock consumption, analyzing trends in stockage policy and customer support, and supervising storage facilities.
"Specifically at my current deployed location, I directly supervise the base service store, mobility section, equipment accountability office and supply document control section within the ELRS," said Brown, whose hometown is Tolleson, Ariz.
The 13-and-a-half-year military veteran - 10 years active duty Air Force, three and a half years Air National Guard , said he had several reasons for joining the military.
"At first I thought I joined the military to earn a degree," Brown said. "Well, I've done that and I'm still here. It's definitely a calling and I love serving in the Air Force. There is nothing else I would rather be doing.
"Additionally, I'm very proud to serve in the Air Force and to represent the Arizona Air National Guard," Brown said. "As a Guard member, we sometimes have a negative pre-judgment put upon us when we deploy. I strive to prove everyday that regardless of which component one serves in, we are all highly skilled professionals and the 'weekend warriors' are very capable of blending seamlessly into the active force. Go Guard."
The 380th ELRS is a unit within the 380th AEW. The wing is home to the KC-10 Extender, U-2 Dragonlady E-3 Sentry and RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The wing is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia. The 380th AEW supports operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.