MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- When it comes to impacting morale and welfare of service members in a deployed location, there is one team that is always up to the task.
The 6th Force Support Squadron is in charge of many jobs, from food service and lodging to fitness programs and recreational activities.
“When we deploy, we aren’t really sure what section we will work in,” said Senior Airman Taylor Deany, a unit deployment manager assigned to the 6th FSS. “Naturally that makes me nervous going into my first deployment, but I’m confident knowing I’ve received the training necessary to excel at my job.”
As a UDM, Deany’s job is to schedule members for required training in preparation for a deployment. This could be anything from dental appointments to contingency operations training.
“The biggest thing we do to ensure everyone is capable of performing all of their required tasks is an annual training,” said Deany. “This training is a two-day class where we talk about every section and how to perform the tasks required.”
Deany stressed that being innovative and proficient in your job are important traits to help make everyone as comfortable as possible in the deployed location.
“You may not have green grass wherever you are,” said Deany. “So when you go to plan sporting events, you have to work with what’s available to you.”
Some creative things Airmen have done is create intramural sports tournaments.
“I’ve heard of individuals making a softball diamond in the dirt and using whatever they can find for bases in order to host softball tournaments,” said Deany.
Another morale booster FSS Airmen can do while deployed is coordinate with the United Service Organization to get musicians to come out and put on a concert.
“An important thing for us is improving morale,” said Deany. “We are always looking ahead on a deployment and saying ‘how can we make this better for everyone.’”
Although they may not know what they will do or how they will do it, FSS Airmen know they make an impact when they deploy.
“The best thing about where I just deployed to was, that we got to do our job and actually cook for the service members,” said Tech Sgt. Adrienne Meadows, NCO in charge of the fitness center assigned to the 6th FSS. “We wanted to make sure that we kept morale up by providing good meals and friendly faces.”
The 6th FSS strives to be a friendly face while providing top notch support services both home station and down range.