Air Force secretary praises Airmen, discusses ops with Bagram Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Jung
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  The secretary of the Air Force visited 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen Aug. 29 here during his second visit to Afghanistan in 10 months.

Secretary Michael B. Donley spoke to approximately 300 Airmen at an Airmen's Call held on the steps of an old, Russian air traffic control tower, known as the "Crow's Nest" in Camp Cunningham.

The control tower was built in 1976 during the Soviet Union's occupation of the region, but today more than 5,000 Airmen are deployed to Bagram Airfield supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and NATO International Security Assistance Forces. 

The secretary thanked Airmen here and relayed a message from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz.

"I can hardly express the pride General Schwartz and I feel in the work that you do here and the contributions that Airmen make in the joint fight," Mr. Donley said.

Secretary Donley went on to list the many missions Airmen are carrying out on a daily basis in support of the joint fight.

"From providing airlift from the continental United States into the area of responsibility and back; providing armed overwatch for coalition forces; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions; special operations forces; combat search and rescue; providing electronic warfare capability; all of this and more demonstrate Airmen are 'all in,'" Secretary Donley said. "And we're doing it with the total force of active duty, Guard and Reserve Airmen, civilians and contractors."

Just days before his visit, Air Force airlift crews flew 149 airlift sorties, delivered 595 short tons of cargo and transported approximately 4,000 passengers. This included about 110,000 pounds of aerial resupply cargo dropped over Afghanistan.

Secretary Donley continued to praise the Airmen for their dedication to the preservation of human life, highlighting the efforts of the Air Force and joint aeromedical evacuation teams.

"We're providing aeromedical evacuation of wounded (including coalition forces and civilians) from the battlefield back to theater hospitals so effectively that it has reduced casualties in this conflict to the lowest rate that it has been in any previous conflict," he said.

An example of this dedication occurred Aug. 25 when Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and pararescue teams transported 25 patients to coalition field hospitals from locations in Afghanistan. Pararescue team members located, rescued and began to stabilize the wounded in the battlefield. The HH-60G  aircrews then transported these patients to field hospitals in less time than it takes for a civilian patient to reach emergency care by ambulance in the United States.

"The scope of mission you are undertaking in the joint fight is truly breath-taking. Without our Air Force, the joint fight would simply grind to a halt," Secretary Donley said.