Call Sign DISCO: The Hercules Pilot turned Paratrooper and SETAF-AF’s Air Mobility Liaison
Guerir Labouihi training complex, Morocco U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen “DISCO” Parsons conducts communications check with C-130 and C-17 aircraft back at Aviano Air Force Base, Italy on June 21, 2022. The aircrafts will conduct a Joint Forcible Entry with paratroopers from 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment “The Rock,” 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade Combat Team. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen L. Parsons) (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL
Back to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa

AGADIR — Although not officially deemed a joint headquarters, U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) has joint and multi-national enablers within the command, one such position being its air mobility liaison officer, or “AMLO.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen Parsons is the AMLO for SETAF-AF. Parsons, who goes by his call sign, “DISCO,” is qualified to fly a C-130J Super Hercules, jump out of it, calculate, measure, and control a landing zone for it.

Globally, the Air Force has 63 AMLOs, comprised of pilots and navigators embedded within Army and Marine units at the division or higher level.

Call Sign DISCO: The Hercules Pilot turned Paratrooper and SETAF-AF’s Air Mobility Liaison
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen “DISCO” Parsons, assigned as the SETAF-AF AMLO, communicates from a frozen lake near Bardufoss, Norway with C-17s inbound from Alaska using high frequency beyond line of site communications to deliver paratroopers from 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division during exercise Swift Response 22 on May 8, 2022. Swift Response 22 integrates both U.S. and allied airpower to defend shared values, while leveraging and strengthening vital partnerships to deter aggression around the world. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen L. Parsons) (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL

AMLOs integrate with sister services and ensure they know how to best utilize Air Force mobility aircraft, such as the C-17, C-5, and mighty C-130J Super Hercules. This ranges from interacting with the airlift request process at the staff level to being at DZ or LZ during airborne operations.

The SETAF-AF AMLO position is also a parachutist position. This is a unique opportunity to attend the U.S. Army Airborne School and maintain jump status.

“Jumping out of these military aircraft was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done,” Parsons said.

As a qualified parachutist, Parsons conducts airborne entries with the command’s Early Entry Command Post and with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, projecting him to the most forward edge of the operation when needed.

To do his job, Parsons packs a standard loadout consisting of a dynamic cone penetrometer for testing soil strength, dual multiband handheld radios, a multiband networking manpack radio with beyond line-of-sight capabilities, an inclinometer, a weather meter, night vision goggles, personal protective equipment, a handheld GPS, and a cell phone with a suite of mission planning tools installed. If you don’t know what some of those are, it is ok, you are not alone. That just emphasizes why his role within the team is so critical.

Call Sign DISCO: The Hercules Pilot turned Paratrooper and SETAF-AF’s Air Mobility Liaison
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen “DISCO” Parsons, assigned to the 40th Airlift Squadron, conducts his “fini” C-130 flight departing from Quonset Point Air National Guard Station in his home state of Rhode Island on June 23, 2019. The final flight commemorates an aviator's career accomplishments and is a tradition for pilots detaching from their units. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Stephen L. Parsons) (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL

According to the Air Force manual on AMLO operations, AMLOs are not assigned to specific staff sections within the supported command to maintain necessary flexibility across all staff functions and assist with issues directly.

This autonomy affords him flexibility to best position around the staff as the mission requires, then directly interface back with Air Mobility Command to garner the required support. A critical biproduct is the ability to assist in identifying and rectifying any gaps. This creates a bridge for shared understanding across all three levels of war: strategic, operational, and tactical.

As a pilot and airborne AMLO, Parsons’ operational perspective has also changed. “In just working with the Army I now think of things when I’m talking with Air Force people that they would not necessarily right away think about,” he said. “Where are we bringing this stuff? It’s like, yea, this airfield fits this airplane and so does this one, but how close is this one to a rail station or a port. Does it look like a place that has power or is it nowhere near anything (else useful).”

Prior to this assignment, his involvement and thoughts often did not consider the second and third order effects the selection of a landing zone or drop zone had on the Soldiers in the rear of the aircraft. The inverse being the Soldiers in the back generally don’t know the requirements needed for the Air Force to execute the mission.

Parsons highlighted that this disconnect is why exercises like African Lion, which allow Air Force and Army planners to integrate in challenging environments, provide so much insight for the military on joint interoperability.

Naturally, Parsons will take back to the Air Force the tacit knowledge gained both directly, and indirectly. Parsons said he hopes to inform and influence Air Force policy, operations, and procedures.

This year marks Parsons’ third and final year as an AMLO, after which he will return to an operational Air Force wing to resume the flying portion of his career.

About SETAF-AF

SETAF-AF provides U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa a dedicated headquarters to synchronize Army activities in Africa and scalable crisis-response options in Africa and Europe.

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