Air terminal operators keep OEF freight, passengers moving

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 416th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KARSHI-KHANABAD AIR BASE, Uzbekistan (AFPN) --  It could be a C-130 Hercules loaded with Airmen and Soldiers heading down range, a civilian cargo plane loaded to the hilt with mail for deployed troops or a C-17 Globemaster III carrying humanitarian supplies for some remote village in Afghanistan.

Any time an aircraft lands with material for Operation Enduring Freedom, 28 Airmen in the 416th Expeditionary Mission Support Squadron’s Air Terminal Operations Center are getting it moving 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“(We move) moves beans, bullets and personnel to fight the global war on terrorism, as well as moving hundreds of thousands of pounds of humanitarian aid,” said Senior Master Sgt. John Rawls, the center’s superintendent deployed here from Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Sergeant Rawls, who oversees all four functional areas of the center, said in February, the center’s Airmen processed 138 outbound C-130, 36 C-17 missions and missions for six other aircraft. For inbound aircraft, he said the Airmen processed more than 175 missions. In all, there were more than 1,700 outbound and 1,800 inbound passengers, plus more than 200 transient passengers.

“We process anywhere between 400 to 450 outbound passengers and 450 to 500 inbound passengers per any seven-day period,” said Tech. Sgt. Nicole Stiger, noncommissioned officer in charge of passenger terminal operations for night shift. She is also deployed here from Maxwell. “We also process between 10 (and) 15 baggage pallets per week.”

In a month’s time, those pallets amount to a lot of freight moved. In February, Sergeant Rawls said they moved more than 335,000 pounds of inbound, outbound and transient passenger baggage. They also moved more than 2.5 million pounds of cargo.

“Basically, we move everything that needs to get on an aircraft, whether it’s supplies, equipment or people,” said Airman James Bowler, an air transportation specialist from Maxwell working in the center’s ramp operations section.

Airman Bowler, like the other center Airmen, is qualified to operate the various types of equipment the center uses to get its work done.

“We are all under the same career field ... and we're all trained in any of the functions of the ATOC,” Sergeant Rawls said.

Tech. Sgt. Charles Hammond, a ramp services supervisor from Maxwell, said to get cargo and people into the fight for the war on terrorism, it takes everyone.

“What we do is crucial,” he said. “Supporting troops ... with vital cargo and food is no small task so our (people) do whatever it takes to get that done.”

Sergeant Hammond said that some of the challenges with loading and unloading planes with cargo, for example, involve "short notices for uploads when aircraft are rescheduled due to weather or maintenance."

“We also deal with manpower shortages when multiple aircraft take off and land during the same time period,” Sergeant Hammond said. “It’s a challenge, but we always get it done, and done safely.”

In the information control area, Tech. Sgt. Scott Johnson, also from Maxwell, works as a controller monitoring where people and cargo are going. He said they gather, process, and disseminate all information pertaining to air terminal operations.

“It’s a team effort,” he said. “We work with command post, base operations, maintenance operations control and many other base agencies here as well as an aircraft's previous station.”

Airman Michael Bianchette is an air transportation apprentice who works as a passenger terminal representative on his first deployment from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. He said he loves what he does here because around every corner there is something new to learn.

“Take for instance the passenger terminal,” Airman Bianchette said. “I’ve learned more about in the terminal operations (when flights) are changed or delayed and I have to inform passengers about the changes. Sometimes the passengers take in the information OK, and sometimes not OK, but no matter what the reaction (is) I do it because I want my customers to have the most up-to-date information.”

The center’s Airmen said they know the main reason they are here is to support the war effort. Without the center and its cargo and people moving abilities, deployed life just would not be the same, said Airman 1st Class Cristel Carlisle, an air transportation apprentice deployed here from Maxwell.

“If we were not here to get the stuff on and off the planes, there would be problems,” Airman Carlisle said. “I think Karshi-Khanabad plays a crucial part in supporting the war to stop terrorism, and I am proud to say that I am a part of this great endeavor. I will continue to do my job to the best of my abilities.”