Combat experience preps Moody deployment officer

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Spencer Gallien
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  In February 2000, one Airman began his journey into the "blue" that would include more than 20 combat missions, five deployments, a bachelor's degree, a stint in the active Reserves, officer training school and finally an assignment here as a logistics officer.

When 1st Lt. Vincent Adamo, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron assistant installation deployment officer, enlisted more than nine years ago he had no idea that his first tour of duty would lead to a career as an Air Force officer.

"When I joined the Air Force I had no goal of becoming an officer," said Lieutenant Adamo. "All I knew was that I wanted to be a part of the Air Force."

Lieutenant Adamo also knew that he wanted to challenge himself, so he enlisted as a member of the Tactical Air Control Party, beginning a highly-decorated journey that took him to both Afghanistan and Iraq.

"I was always kind of a bookworm," said Lieutenant Adamo. "I wanted to do something completely alter ego, so when I joined the Air Force I really wanted to be the 'tip of the spear.'"

The black beret wearing TACPs serve as a link between Army ground commanders and pilots, providing over-watch to eliminate enemy threats to ground forces. They're responsible for planning, communicating and coordinating the ground commander's need for close-air support.

After spending 24-weeks going through the training "pipeline" to learn how to integrate Air Force and Army assets, as well as CAS procedures, Lieutenant Adamo graduated with his TACP three-level career badge.

He was assigned to the 14th Air Support Operations Squadron, Fort Bragg, N.C., an honor reserved for the top two graduates of the training school.

"The 14th ASOS at Fort Bragg was an awesome experience," said Lieutenant Adamo. "It really is difficult to find a place where everyone has the same focus and drive that you do."

As a TACP, Lieutenant Adamo found himself as the only Air Force member in an Army unit. As a fairly new Airman, he was thrust into a leadership role where he found himself accountable for Air Force regulations along with self regulation. 

In 2002, Lieutenant Adamo, then a senior airman, had volunteered for the most consecutive deployment tours in the 14th ASOS.

During one of these deployments, he was part of a special operations team quick reaction force. After being alerted that there was a downed aircraft, he and the QRF team were dispatched to aid in the recovery of the crew, aircraft, and any secure materials.

Lieutenant Adamo controlled a C-130 Specter Gunship and a Marine AV-8B Harrier II for 38 hours of close air support, as they recovered the crew and cleared the aircraft crash site.

What Lieutenant Adamo didn't know at the time, was that the downed aircraft and crew were on the Komodo 11, an aircraft from Moody, and included pararescuemen from the 38th Rescue Squadron and aircrew members from the 41st Rescue Squadron.

These combat zone experiences would eventually lead Lt. Adamo back to a deployment-centric career at the home of the Komodo 11 crew.

(Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series on the varied career of 1st Lt. Vincent Adamo, who currently serves as the 23rd Wing, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron assistant installation deployment officer.)