Deployed Keesler captain keeps information flowing Published Aug. 5, 2009 By Senior Airman Eric Summers 81st Training Wing Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Imagine waking up for a workout at 6 a.m., then at 8 a.m. leaving the base where housing is for a 45-minute ride to work. After a long day of work until 6 p.m., take another 45- minute ride to get back to housing Monday through Saturday. This is the lifestyle of Capt. Michelle Salgado who's currently deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. At Keesler, she's the chief of current operations with the 81st Training Support Squadron. While deployed, Captain Salgado serves as the 386th Expeditionary Communications Squadron Detachment 1 commander. She and her superintendent, Tech. Sgt. Stephen Meyers, deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., lead two unique teams that are pivotal to the primary intra-theater airlift hub for all joint and coalition operations going into and out of Iraq and Afghanistan. The first team is the mail control authority consisting of six military and four third-county national contractors who process inbound and outbound mail for the area of responsibility. Each month, the team processes an average of 1.9 million pounds of mail. The second team consists of 16 contractors who provide 24/7 communications support to more than 450 coalition forces and civilian contractors at the busiest U.S. Air Force aerial port of debarkation in the world. The detachment enables the mission of the 387th Air Expeditionary Group and five tenant units, including the 5th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron, Army Airfield Control Group, Theater Mortuary Evacuation Point, Marine Corps Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group and Patient Administration Tracking Team. Captain Salgado, who's been in the Air Force since April 1992 and stationed at Keesler since June 2006, arrived in Southwest Asia for her first deployment in April. "The most challenging part is being away from my two children -- it's not so much about me missing them as it is about them missing me and that I can't be there for them," she said. "I am a single mom of two beautiful children, Jaslyn, 14, and Alec, 5. "I am very fortunate to be based at a location that has installed a wireless morale net," she continued. "Not only can I call them DSN, I can also call them using Skype." "The support facilities here are very nice, except for the small base exchange with very limited space and products," the captain explained. "I often go online to purchase things I can't purchase here, including the shampoo and conditioner that I use." Captain Salgado described the housing on the base as several hardened dormitories where the junior enlisted and senior officers live. The rest live in trailers. "I share my small room, just big enough to have a wall locker placed in the center to give us a little privacy," she said. "We have a public restroom that has five stalls and a public shower that has nine small showers." Captain Salgado described the people as the most memorable moment part if the deployment so far for her. "We often have contact with the locals -- they have been very friendly and hospitable," Captain Salgado pointed out. "Business is done at their pace, which always starts with tea and something to eat. "The locals really enjoy working with us," she continued. "It's amazing to watch as an agreement is arrived between us and the host nation. These partnerships involve shared goals that will benefit the U.S. and the host nation for many years to come, and experiences that I find humbling." "Although this assignment has been very enjoyable, I often have to rely on inner joy and faith in this place that is unfamiliar in culture, appearance and every other sense," she added.