The United States Air Force was created in 1947 from the Army Air Corps. That commission was determined by one single event: the Berlin Airlift. During the Berlin Airlift, the Air Force air-dropped needed supplies to civilians behind the Berlin Wall. The people who packed those supplies were Air Force unit deployment personnel managers assigned to arrange these lifesaving items, which helped bring the U.S. Air Force into prominence.

Duties and Function

The Air Force unit deployment manager's responsibility is to conduct all administrative functions for troops that are deployed to accomplish the Air Force mission in peace or wartime scenarios.

A deployment manager is also responsible for the accounting and deployment of logistical items and equipment for Air Force operations. The deployment manager acts as a liaison between other Air Force units that have mobility designations for health assessment of troops and individual medical readiness databases to ensure that unit troops have updated immunization records.

Position

An Air Force unit deployment manager usually holds the rank of a junior or senior non-commissioned officer, or NCO (staff sergeant E-5 to chief master sergeant E-9). The Air Force career code designation for unit deployment manager is “logistics management specialist." The pay of a unit deployment manager is determined by pay grade. Deployment managers usually work at Air Force squadron level positions or are assigned to a squadron by Major Command United States Air Force guidelines.

Work Environment

Air Force unit deployment managers work in units that have a mobility mission. The work environment is usually in an office with access to personnel data for the maintenance and upkeep of mobility records and items. Depending on the type of unit the manager is deployed to, there could be physical exertion that is required in the lifting and moving of items designated for mobility.

Training

Training is an important requirement for Air Force units if deployed to a peacetime or wartime situation. Unit deployment managers are responsible for ensuring that personnel are trained in various areas for deployment. It is the unit managers’ duty to ensure that training is scheduled and met within a specific time frame for courses such as weapons proficiency; self-aid buddy care training; nuclear, biological and chemical warfare defense training; and pallet buildup.

Benefits

Air Force unit deployment managers get the same benefits as other Air Force active-duty personnel such as vacation time or "leave” (accrued at 2.5 days per month) and base exchange and commissary access. Work experience can also lead to obtaining a Community College of the Air Force accredited degree in the field of logistics management.

The greatest benefit is ensuring that the Air Force mission is accomplished through ensuring that units are ready for deployment in peace or wartime operations.