Reservists mobilized to provide airlift support for Afghanistan troop surge Published March 30, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Shawn J. Jones 514th Air Mobility Wing public affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- More than 100 Reservists of the 514th Air Mobility Wing will mobilize in early April to support the ongoing troop surge to Afghanistan. The surge, which began in December, will add 30,000 servicemembers to the 70,000 that are already engaged in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. The mobilized reservists - most who serve in aircraft maintenance and support positions - will help meet the demand the surge is putting on air mobility aircraft. Large-scale mobilizations can be challenging for many reserve Airmen, who must maintain a balance between the needs of their civilian jobs, military duties and families. Despite the challenge, the 514th AMW fills more than 80 percent of their deployment and mobilization requirements with volunteers, said Master Sgt. Cheryl Marshall, a logistics planner with 514th Logistics Readiness Flight. To help ensure Airmen had ample time to put their affairs in order, they were given more than the minimum 30-day notice for the six-month mobilization. Though this is the 514th AMW's largest group mobilization since the early periods of OEF, the wing averages more than 100 Airmen mobilized and deployed in support of global military operations at any given time, said Linda Winn, the chief of personnel readiness with the 514th Force Support Squadron. In a Dec. 1 speech at the U.S. Military Academy, President Barack Obama described the need for a troop surge in Afghanistan. "This is the epicenter of violent extremism practiced by al-Qaeda. It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak," he said. OEF began in October 2001. Its goals include the destruction of terrorist training camps and infrastructure within Afghanistan, the capture of al-Qaeda leaders and the cessation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan.