After Hours, Team Whiteman members burn the midnight oil

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo – Staff Sgt. Lavell Williams, 509th Command Post, works the nightshift Nov. 6. While the command post is an agency of which many have heard, some view it simply as a 24-hour information directory. To others, it's the booming, yet unintelligible giant voice in the sky, directing base members to get in their Mission Oriented Protective Posture gear for yet another exercise. However, the command post plays a role in almost every aspect of a base's day-to-day mission, as well as during times of emergency or disaster. In addition, it supports a variety of missions during deployment, such as flight following, commander support, and monitoring theater ballistic missile defense systems. A command post, in general, is the focal point of a base's operations. It acts as the eyes and ears of the base, functioning as a 24-hour information and coordination facility for the base commanders and their assets. The command post's day to day responsibilities include accounting for commander location and availability, tracking of wing and transient aircraft and acting as a coordination agency for various weather notifications. When a serious incident arises, such as an in-flight emergency, Force Protection Condition update or natural disaster, the controllers gather information directly from responding agencies such as security forces or the fire department. Controllers provide up-to-date information to the appropriate commanders as it becomes available. This enables leadership to better assess the significance of the situation and its impact on the base's overall mission. The command post also relays the directions and orders of the commanders to all the applicable agencies on base. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephen Linch)