SOUTHWEST ASIA –
Name: Maj. Tony Kleiger
Home Unit: Air Combat Command Air and Space Operations Directorate
What do you do? Executive Officer to the Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander, Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg
What's a day in the life like ... while in Southwest Asia?
A typical day entails managing the DCFACC's schedule as he manages the Air War for the CENTCOM AOR. Every day is planned from 7:30 a.m. to as late as 11:30 p.m. or later. Coordination takes place for daily Video Teleconferences with ground, air, and sea commanders ensuring the AOR's airpower is distributed where it is needed most.
In between phone calls, e-mails, processing awards and decorations, sequencing in sometimes up to 30+ people to see the general behind closed doors, I get a quick lunch, dinner, and a one hour workout.
On top of the normal battle rhythm, we have numerous Distinguished Visitors to include Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gordon England , Multi-National Force - Iraq Commanding Gen. David Petraeus, Air Force Materiel Command Commander Gen. Bruce Carlson, Air Mobility Command Commander Gen. Arthur Lichte, just to name a few.
Needless to say, the pace is hectic...but I thrive on it!
What will you remember about your deployment 20 years from now?
Getting the opportunity to gain insight on how a 2-Star General thinks and seeing how an Air War is conducted from the 50,000-foot view with all of the intricacies associated from dealing with Coalition partners to witnessing how airpower shapes the political landscape.
What's the most useful item you packed? Pictures of my wife and family.
When did you realize you "weren't in Kansas anymore;" aka your "Dorothy" moment? My Dorothy moment was like a bucket of ice water dumped on me unexpectedly on a hot summer day...
As soon as we walked down the airstairs from the DC-10, I was blasted with hot wind and sand at 3 a.m. and haven't gotten the dirt taste out of my mouth yet.
What has been the highlight of your tour? Getting to hear Deputy Sec Def Gordon England and Gen. David Petraeus speaking after closed door classified briefings and injecting their viewpoints on our progress as Airman and how vital our contributions are to the current fight.
What's the best part of the deployment? Getting to travel throughout the AOR visiting Airmen and experiencing the motivation and enthusiasm that makes the difficult seem easy. Everyone is deeply mission-focused. It is truly impressive to witness and makes me very proud to be an Airman.
The worst part? When I have time to think about my wife and family at home and how much I missed the little "routine" tasks that we take for granted such as, (and my wife would be shocked to hear me say this) going shopping for food, the mall, etc.
What new survival skill have you learned? Getting more organized in my thoughts and actions. Prioritizing tasks faster. Recognizing what is chaff much faster and targeting what is important in my job.
What do you do during down time? Not much of that, but I try to catch up on lost sleep and chip away at my last Master's class.
What is the first thing you will do when you return? Hug my wife until my arms hurt and then hug her again.
What is the first thing you will eat when you return? Eat some good quality New York-style pizza.
What insight/experience will you take away from your time over there?
I have gained a keen appreciation of how complex of an operation fighting a war is. There are no "unimportant" parts. All the parts are necessary and must complete their tasks successfully to get the mission complete. When you are not able to the see the bigger picture of how all of the pieces work together, it can be frustrating when you are doing a task and don't know why you are doing it. Every job has a function and every function is necessary to our Joint/Coalition Force to complete the job our nations have asked us to perform.
What do you miss the most? I miss seeing trees and green grass. For that matter, anything green.
How is your job that you are doing now different from the job back stateside?
The frequency of crises occurs at a much higher rate than at home.
Have you tried the local cuisine? A few times and I haven't found a new favorite food.
What do you think about what you hear on the news from what is going on stateside? I think it is a good thing that we are able to keep the terrorists engaged in the AOR so everyone at home only has issues like the election, gas prices, etc. to worry about. Our job is to protect...so our families and the remaining citizens of our collective nations can live their lives as they choose. This is what we've signed up for. This is what we are proud to do as Americans and as a Coalition.
Do you have plans for any extra money that you might be making from this deployment? Yes. Paying off bills faster than normal.