310th Airlift Squadron spouse orientation a success

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  • By 310th Airlift Squadron
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  On Feb. 19, 24 spouses from across the 6th Air Mobility Wing participated in an orientation with the 310th Airlift Squadron. The day's activities began with a welcome by Lt. Col. .Jason Wolf, commander, and Master Sgt. Dave Folkerts, superintendent. They, along with the Mission Development flight commander, Maj. Rob Giannoni, detailed the mission planning responsibilities associated with each crew position before a mission departs. Lt. Col. Pat Thompson, director of operations, then led a tour of the squadron operations center and squadron flight offices. He provided insight into scheduling, training, standardization and aviation resource management operations.

After the tour, the spouses spent half an hour in the flight attendant kitchen, where they engaged in a cooking demonstration (and rhubarb cake sampling) with two of the squadron's flight attendants, Tech. Sgt. Nick Gomez and Tech. Sgt. Angela Whitman. They spoke to the differences between cooking at 40,000 feet and cooking on the ground, and enlightened those in attendance on how the crew provides five-star customer service to the four stars during their long missions.

After a short stop in the squadron heritage room for the pre-mission brief by director of staff, Maj. Brandon Leifer, the spouses boarded a C-37, "The Blue and White" for a tour of Florida's Gold Coast and Space Coast. The weather and visibility were perfect, and each passenger gained an appreciation for exactly what transpires from takeoff to landing on one of the Air Force's most reliable and comfortable aircraft.

"What a great day, and a great chance to show our appreciation for the support our passengers give us in our mission," said Tech. Sgt. Matt Wallace, the flight engineer aboard. Master Sgt. Gail Delbianco, flight attendant and Wing Safety NCO, kept the passengers safe during the orientation flight and provided outstanding in-flight meal service.

Wrapping up, a successful orientation day was had by all, and it was a tremendous opportunity to get a glimpse behind the scenes of one of the safest and best-run airlift operations in the Air Force.