Airmen mentor Afghan porters at Kabul airport

  • Published
  • By Petty Officer 1st Class Elizabeth Burke
  • 438th Air Expeditionary Wing
KABUL (AFNS) --  For the Afghan National Army, the aerial port at the Afghan National Army Air Force base at Kabul International Airport is critical to resupplying troops in the field.

The concept of an aerial port has been around for a long time, but increasing the capabilities is the job of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Combined Air Power Transition Force.

"This group of guys is awesome. There are 23 of them and they are very, very hardworking," said Master Sgt. Michael Dow, the ANAAF Aerial Port mentor. "I am never disappointed."

These 23 airmen are responsible for moving cargo, ammunition, weapons and passengers on all ANAAF aircraft. Most of the group has been together for the last 18 months starting with basic training and the three month basic aerial port class at the ANAAF training academy.
Literacy is a problem, but soldiers are trained in the areas they show an aptitude for. They keep records of passengers, take off and landings times and amount and type of cargo they are transporting.

"We are very proud of what we do. We love our job," said ANAAF Maj. Dawood Sediqi, the aerial port commander. "Work officially starts at 7 a.m. The guys come in early and stay late, because they love their job. They love what they do, it makes them feel good. They do their job and they don't expect an extra paycheck for that."

The ANAAF aerial port cargo area is free of cargo today. In the last week alone, aerial porters moved 19 tons of cargo and for the first time, independently loaded 3,900 pounds of cargo on the ANAAF's newest transport plane, the C-27A Spartan.

"That was not a problem for me, I felt safe and normal. It wasn't hard for me," said ANAAF soldier Inudin Safi, an aerial port forklift operator.

"They did it with no problems," Sergeant Dow said. "I had no doubts."

There are two Afghan aerial port soldiers and two CAPTF mentors in Kandahar and a new aerial port mentor for Jalalabad has just arrived. Future aerial ports are planned for Shindand and Herat.

"I think they are self sufficient," Sergeant Dow said. 'I am in a position right now where I am tweaking things."

The International Security Assistance Force supports Afghan National Army cargo movements, but lately the volume has become a burden on the cargo contractor.

The ANAAF is limited on aircraft, but maximizes capacity. Since January of this year, they have transported more than 250,000 pounds of cargo and more than 32,000 passengers. The aerial porters have been taking on more responsibility and taking many of the resupply missions from ISAF.

Sergeant Dow said standing up the Air Transportation Operations Center will be his next big project.
The ATOC is the nerve center of the aerial port and overseas: passenger processing, cargo processing, aircraft commander briefs, cargo and passenger manifests, trouble shooting for aircraft cargo and passenger on loading/offloading.

Five soldiers have been chosen based on their performance and they will now undergo intensive training and upon completion will act as quality assurance of the aerial port.

"I will be working hard with these five highly motivated individuals and with their hard work and motivation they will be a well oiled machine knowing everything there is about operations within the aerial port," Sergeant Dow said.