How do I begin?

 

First, make contact with the Facilities Manager in Passenger Shelter 2 (Bldg W-1544) on Green Ramp.  The phone number is 910-432-0255. If you can’t make contact with the facilities manager call the Arrival/Departure Airfield Control Group (A/DACG) operations desk at 910-396-9911. They will start you on the right path.

 

What are the general rules for welcome home ceremonies?

 

Passenger Shelter 2, sometimes called Pax Shed 2, is the preferred shelter for ceremonies because of parking.  Units will need to provide guides to direct vehicles into the three parking lots and to show family members where the ceremony will take place.

 

No pets of any kind are allowed in the Passenger Shelters.  This is to provide health and safety protection for all people attending the ceremonies.  Please leave your pets at home.

 

Refreshments, free of charge, can be served in the Passenger Shelters.  However, if Family Resource Groups (FRGs) wish to set up and sell food products, permission must be obtained from Moral, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) and coordination with the facility manager must take place on the rules for selling food at the shelters.

 

Picture taking is allowed at welcome home ceremonies providing you follow a couple of rules.  If you want to take pictures toward the flight line, permission must be first obtained from either Pope AFB Public Affairs Office (PAO), 18^th Airborne Corps PAO or the 82^nd ABN PAO (list of authorized PAO reps is linked below).  If the PAO is present at the ceremony, the representative will explain the rules.  If a PAO representative is not present then a signed letter from the PAO must be present (example memo is linked below).  If neither is present, family members will not be allowed to take pictures toward the flight line.  They can take pictures inside the shelters or out in the parking lots.

 

Click the following two links for more information on taking pictures toward the flight Line...

 

Flight Line Photography Authorization Clearance letter

Flight Line Photography Authorization Clearance letter Example

 

If family members want to watch the plane touch down and taxi that is fine provided they stay behind the aircraft taxi line.  Because of debris such as sand and small rocks being kicked up when the plane makes the final turn, please tell everyone to cover their eyes or turn away.  We will also close the large bay doors during this time to prevent the debris from blowing into the shelter.

 

During the winter months the ADACG Pax Shed Reps will not open the large bay doors until the soldiers are ready to march into the shelters.  Please use the small man doors beside the roll up doors instead.  The shelters are heated with radiant floor heating and it takes only a minute or two to empty the heat and 4 – 6 hours to reheat the shelter.  This will help keep the shelters comfortable.

 

What are my unit responsibilities?

 

Units are responsible for the set up, break down and clean up of the facilities.  This will involve a detail of strong soldiers to move benches (benches must be picked up and it takes 8 strong soldiers to move one bench) plus guides for parking, guards to keep family members behind the aircraft taxi line, a detail to clean the entire area to include parking areas after the families depart, plus other details to set up any unit items you desire (like flags, PA systems, etc).  A unit OIC/NCOIC must be assigned who will sign for and be responsible to the shelters.  The A/DACG will provide brooms, mops, trash bags and toilet paper as required.  Shelters must be put back into original configuration after each ceremony, exceptions may be granted by the facilities manager.

 

To help with family members entering Pope AFB, we suggest you contact Pope AFB Law Enforcement and discuss methods to ease the traffic congestion with them.  The Law Enforcement Police Services number is 910-394-2264.

 

Any VIP (O-6 and above) in attendance must be reported to Pope AFB Protocol prior to their arrival.  Any Commander who wishes to go out to the aircraft must be escorted.  This is accomplished thru the Ground Liaison Office (GLO) at 910-394-8320/9016.

Finally, units are responsible for the good conduct of those attending the ceremonies.  This is a time of happiness and no one wants it ruined because someone either can’t follow the rules or gets hurt.

 

What about recovery of baggage, cargo, weapons and sensitive items?

 

Units are responsible for providing transportation for baggage.  However, if you have a large unit returning, 53 foot semi tractor box trailers can be coordinated for baggage return thru the Transportation Motor Pool (TMP).

 

Palletized or containerized cargo (rolling stock is the unit responsibility) will be transported to the unit area by the A/DACG.  A unit representative must be present at the A/DACG operations building to sign for the cargo and guide the trucks to the unit.  The unit is responsible to have a 10K fork lift to unload the cargo at the unit area.

 

We STRONGLY recommend your baggage; weapons and sensitive items are handled in the unit area.  Our experience is there is no time saved in trying to turn those items in at the passenger shelters and in fact it always turns out to be an accountability problem.  If you organize your detail, the baggage can be already laid out in the unit area for claiming by the owner before the soldiers arrive.  Then it is an easy process to turn in weapons and sensitive items, pick up their bags and go home!

 

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