Partnership between air forces in the making

  • Published
  • By Capt. David Faggard
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Officials from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing hosted Afghan National Army Air Corps officials Dec. 19, here, to explain how an American combat wing operates day to day.

Brig. Gen. Steven L. Kwast, the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing commander and other Airmen from operations, maintenance and mission support groups took the day to get to know their Afghan airmen, share lessons learned and build partnerships.

The Afghan National Army Air Corps Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Abdul Wahab Wardak said that he saw changes and differences at the base since his last visit, but that the American commitment is what's important.

"There is big change in rebuilding Afghanistan," the Afghan general said. "I know those working in my country are working to rebuild this country, to stabilize this country, and bring solidarity to the country. These people are my brothers. The American troops are here and they are losing blood for the Afghan people and we appreciate them."

Running a major combat wing is hard enough during a war, but through key leader engagements like these, Air Force officials hope this will be the first in a series of engagements designed to communicate between U.S. and Afghan airmen, said Maj. Langdon Root, the event's project officer.

"This is an introduction to the Afghan National Army Air Corps on how the U.S. Air Force runs a major combat wing," Major Root said. "It's our opportunity to integrate and build bridges between the airmen of these two countries and the visit offers a window for our hosts to see how large-scale U.S. operations are supported and executed," he said.

"Our intent is to spark ideas about how operations should work as our hosts gain more capability and capacity," the major said. "The interaction will hopefully give them practical information they can use to help grow their own assets and infrastructure into the future."

After arriving in their Mi-17 helicopter, the Afghan airmen toured wing close-air-support operations of the F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, saw a weapons-loading demonstration, held maintenance discussions, toured the air traffic control tower and learned about cargo processing and handling.

A large portion of the visit was interaction with the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron to help them better understand Air Force cargo and passenger movement. Afghan airmen received two new C-27 cargo aircraft in November, 2009. The C-27 is a twin engine cargo aircraft capable of landing in austere and small airfields in remote regions of Afghanistan. In addition to the C-27, the Afghan air corps consists of former Soviet-era cargo aircraft and helicopters.

"The basics of EAPS and cargo movement, how we execute the air transportation mission and how we're organized -- these are critical functions to a new air force that we're discussing with them," said Lt. Col. Dan Krall, commander of the 455th EAPS. "As militaries stand up, the basic logistics process of transporting personnel and cargo is vitally important."

The visit to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, comes just days after Air Mobility Command officials announced that Airmen from the 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., finished restoring a 1960s-era, run-down, former Soviet airfield that will eventually become the home of the Afghan National Army Air Corps undergraduate pilot training in Shindand, Afghanistan.

Although the visit here was senior-level focused, this will ultimately be the beginning of a relationship Air Force Airmen hope to build with their Afghan counterparts.

"This is their nation and it's theirs to defend with our assistance," said General Kwast. "We're not here to tell them how to run their operations, we're here to show them how we run ours and maybe, in discussions, we can all learn some new things and implement some new ideas. Peace and security in Afghanistan will emerge, in part, through these Afghan airmen."