625th STOS holds Deep Dive

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Hammes
  • 55th Wing Public Affairs

The 625th Strategic Operations Squadron hosted a Deep Dive session for other squadrons within the 559th Command and Control Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., Jan. 25.

Deep Dives are an initiative promoted by 595th C2G Commander Col. Robert Billings in an effort to promote cooperation and understanding between the group’s squadrons.

The 595th C2G stood up as a group aligned under Eighth Air Force in October 2016. Prior to that, the five squadrons – the 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron, the 595th Strategic Communications Squadron, the 595th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and the 625th STOS – had either been aligned separately or nonexistent.

Billings created the Deep Dive initiative in order to encourage Airmen within the squadrons to learn about the mission of squadrons outside of their own.

Tech. Sgt. James Clingan, a security manager with the 595th AMXS, was one of the Airmen who participated in the 625th’s Deep Dive session, and said the event gave him a better understanding of the 625th STOS’s mission.

“I didn’t understand exactly how much they were involved with the missiles mission, so I learned a lot about how they tie in with the group through that,” he said. “I thought it was a pretty good learning experience, to get to see something you haven’t gotten to see before.”

Clingan said events like the Deep Dive create a sense of unity within the group.

“It helps you with your growth and understanding of where you fit in the bigger picture, and how we all fit together,” he said. “Instead of just knowing that [the 625th STOS is] there, you have an idea of what they’re doing and how we work together in the bigger scheme of things.”

Participants in the Deep Dive were able to learn about the mission areas of the 625th STOS, visiting the squadron’s members in the U.S. Strategic Command facility as well as receiving a tour of the E-6B.

Capt. Ethan Rego, an instructor and evaluator for the Airborne Launch Control System weapons system with the 625th STOS, was the architect behind his squadron’s Deep Dive.

“We’re a young group, we’ve come together from a lot of different mission sets,” he said. “It’s important for us to see how similar we are and to see how different we are. If we need help, we can always reach out to other folks in our group who understand us and can help us without having to reach out to the Air Force at large with our problem.”

Billings said the Deep Dives were a priority to him as a commander to achieve a sense of unity among the squadrons. 

"Since the 595th C2G has several missions, the Deep Dive is a critical information-sharing method that expands the mission focus for members not familiar with the various missions within the group,” Billings said. “Some members may be focused on their particular job without fully understanding how their job affects the other missions.  The cross-communication between the squadrons gives everyone to a chance to teach and share their expertise with others."