Pope’s COMSEC Program: One of AMC’s best Communications Security programs Published Aug. 1, 2008 By Staff Sgt. Jon LaDue 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The Air Force is an organization where the smallest miscue in attention to detail could result in a loss of equipment, a failed mission, or even worse -- a loss of lives. Taking care of the intricate details of some of the everyday jobs recently led to recognition for one of Pope's programs by Air Mobility Command. Pope's Communications Security program was recently reevaluated by the AMC COMSEC Inspection Team and was found to have one of the top programs in the command, including two "best practices." The success or failure of Pope's COMSEC program depends on every member assigned to Pope, said Master Sgt. Gina Sims, 43rd Communications Squadron COMSEC manager. The 43rd CS boasts a six-member COMSEC team that has focused in on and put lots of hard work into helping Pope's program be labeled a success and nothing else, Sergeant Sims said. In the base's initial assessment six months ago, there were many "findings" of various degrees that required corrective action. With only six months until a re-evaluation, Sergeant Sims and her COMSEC team immediately got to work. No one wants to hear that their program stinks ... during the first inspection, there were many improper procedures and incorrect documentation findings. They varied in degree of importance but the COMSEC team took immediate action. Sergeant Sims said with the high turnover and a very high operations tempo, it was a challenge to ensure the correct information was being passed to every COMSEC-responsible officer and user on base but her team was up to the challenge. "It's easy to be overwhelmed when facing a mountain, but we took the first inspection as a learning experience. We took the stick and ran with it," Sergeant Sims said. Pope's COMSEC team researched and implemented corrective actions within their own program but credited unit commanders and unit COMSEC representatives with implementing the corrective actions at a unit level. "The most tedious and difficult (correction) was overcoming the lack of training and continuity at the main account and at all the unit accounts across Pope," Sergeant Sims said. "We really appreciate the collective efforts of Team Pope." When it came time for the inspection team to re-evaluate Pope's COMSEC program, Sergeant Sims said they were impressed with the continuity everywhere they went. More importantly Pope's revived program earned two "best practice" honors and the inspection team even requested the documentation on these practices so they could share them with the rest of AMC. The COMSEC representatives in the 43rd Operations Support Squadron, Tech. Sgt. Lee Marsters and Staff Sgt. Jason Horne, garnered one of the "best practices" when the AMC Inspection Team reviewed their COMSEC Inspection binder. "(They) were thoroughly impressed at how far we've come from the original inspection six months ago," Sims said. "Becoming one of the top bases they will recommend to any other base is an accomplishment to be proud of." Sergeant Sims couldn't be more proud of all of the COMSEC representatives around the base, but especially her team: Tech. Sgts. Sharifah Shabazz, Daniel Tester, Jamil Goodwin, Staff Sgt. Matthew Saben and Airman 1st Class Mark Wynn. "Too many times people put in long hours and make many sacrifices that are unknown to the casual observer," Sergeant Sims said. "I'm thankful that, this time, the personnel working in the COMSEC program throughout the base are being recognized for their tremendous efforts."