Grissom trains Airman bound for Niagara Air Force Reserve Station

Published May 31, 2017
By Senior Airman Harrison Withrow
434 ARW Public Affairs

GRISSOM AIR RESERVE BASE, Ind. -- After tech school most Airmen begin their training at their unit, but for one Niagara Falls command post controller, that was not the case.

Grissom welcomed the 914th Airlift Wing’s newest command post controller to train in preparation for the KC-135R Stratotanker mission May 23.

“I graduated from tech school and then two weeks later I arrived at Grissom,” said Senior Airman Micah Greidanus, 914th AW command post controller. “I’ve only been here a short time, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot already.”

The 914th AW has sent several controllers to Grissom for training in the past, but Greidanus is the first to arrive straight out of tech school, said Master Sgt. Jeffrey Withrow, 434th Air Refueling Wing command post superintendent.

“Greidanus was sent to us as part of our ongoing cooperation with the 914th AW,” said Withrow. “Our command post operations are more similar to what he can expect in the future, so the decision was made to have him train here before returning to his duty station.”

Greidanus wasn’t the only new face at the command post. Senior Airman Andrew Zinola, 434th ARW command post controller, graduated from tech school with Greidanus and the two met once again when Greidanus arrived at Grissom.

“Most of the other Airmen from the 914th came here in groups, but I was sent to Grissom by myself,” said Greidanus. “It was nice to see a familiar face when I got here.”

Though Greidanus has only been a command post controller for a short time, he spent two years in emergency management, so his level of experience was far greater than that of an Airman fresh out of basic training.

“I was concerned that there wouldn’t be much of an overlap between the two skillsets, but the first few blocks of tech school were very in line with what I had done before,” he said. “It was things like going over checklists, coordinating different groups and assessing situations.

“It’s a different application, but the core concepts had many similarities,” added Greidanus.

The tech school for command post controllers was only a brief six weeks, he said. The school is designed to only cover the basics which are consistent throughout all command posts.

“Each command post is so varied based on their mission that most training has to be done on the job,” said Greidanus. “The tech school gives you a very narrow set of skills, and then you learn your actual job at your duty station.”

Though his stay was brief, Greidanus was highly satisfied with his time at Grissom, and felt that he learned a great deal.

“It was busy, but the training was phenomenal,” said Greidanus. “Everyone was very fun to work with, but also professional.

“This is an amazing command post,” he added. “The quality of their work is outstanding, and everyone has been incredibly welcoming to me.”

The 434th ARW is the largest KC-135R Stratotanker unit in the Air Force Reserve Command. Men and women from the Hoosier Wing routinely deploy around the world in support of the Air Force mission.

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Grissom trains Airman bound for Niagara Air Force Reserve Station

Public Affairs Staff