MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- U.S. Air Force Col. Jessie J. Friedel, 35th Fighter Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Joey R. Meininger, 35th FW command chief, conducted their last Wild Weasel Walk-through at Misawa Air Base, Japan, May 8, 2022.
Their final visit was to the members of the 35th Logistic Readiness Squadron (LRS) Installation Deployment Readiness Cell (IDRC) to bid farewell and offer words of encouragement. Friedel explained why their job is important as they help leadership find issues and correct them for successful deployments. Due to being overseas, they are also in charge of all wing exercise deployments with only a team of 10 Airmen.
During an exercise, Air Force leaders task the IDRC to get people and cargo to a location in a specific timeline. They identify the requirements, create deployment data, and decide on an execution plan. Members meet with airfield operations, pilots and maintainers to establish clear expectations. Through this process, the IDRC is able to inform leadership of deployment progress and what is needed to accomplish the mission.
“The Airmen that work in the IDRC almost single-handedly run a wing-level program, and I have just been very impressed by the level of maturity it takes to make that happen,” said Capt. Wongsai Heur, 35th LRS installation deployment officer. “They're incredibly resourceful, mature and hardworking; and without that, I don't think a lot of things in the wing would happen.”