Airmen handle transient surge

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J. Russell Martin
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) --  More than 1,500 people arrived here Feb. 22 to 26. The problem was, none left.

Airmen said they first noticed the lines at the dining facility growing a little longer. Then the gym facilities began to get a little more crowded; and across the way it started becoming more and more difficult to find an open pool table at the morale tents.

By Feb. 25, the lines at the dining facility were out the door, one morale tent looked like a homecoming celebration in the high school gym. And the gym? The gym and another morale tent were closed with more than 150 cots in each giving transient troops a place to lay their heads, officials said.

With 376th Expeditionary Service Squadron Airmen spearheading the effort, the base managed to house transients at nearly 190 percent capacity during the week.

Canceling intramural sports competitions, the fitness center staff quickly went to work building about 1,200 cots for the temporary visitors.

“When I found out we were going to have this many people here ... it didn’t shock me, but then I actually saw the (number) of folks, and I just felt sorry for them,” said Tech. Sgt. David Goldbach, of the 376th ESVS fitness center. “We made it work the best we could. I wish we could have done more.”

Services Airmen searched for every usable cot and available bed space on the station, officials said.

“At one point we were considering having the transients hot-bunk,” said 1st Lt. Rudy Garcia, 376th ESVS deputy commander. “That’s basically where two people will share one cot, back-to-back and lean up against each other for support, or they sleep in shifts.”

Fortunately, base officials said they were able to use temporary shelters to give the troops a place to put their feet up. One of the shelters had housed millions of dollars worth of maintenance parts used on KC-135 Stratotankers flying out of here. Now, it is helping protect more important assets, the transient Soldiers.

Lt. Col. Victoria Reed, 376th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander and Chief Master Sgt. Steven Hall, the squadron’s superintendent, said they decided to move the KC-135 parts after receiving word that more bed space was needed and services officials had to close the morale tent and the gym.

“We felt that these two facilities are vital to the morale of this camp, especially with 1,500 transients also waiting with little to do,” Colonel Reed said.

Clearing out the maintenance facilities made room for an additional 500-plus cots, officials said.

“We were out of the shell in less than four hours,” Colonel Reed said. “But before we got out, we also had some minor roof (leaks)”

Airmen of the 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron came to the rescue.

“While we emptied the inside, they fixed the outside. By the time the last forklift load was leaving, (people were) already laying out beds and the place was packed with (Soldiers) by midnight. We all worked together like (we had) been together for years rather than just weeks,” Colonel Reed said.

The effort did not go unnoticed.

“This place is better than what we had when I was in Iraq,” said Army Pvt. Ernest Henry, one of the transient Soldiers. “We’re clean, and we’re warm. I’ve heard about all the effort the guys here put into finding us places to sleep, and I know we all appreciate it.”

And this is just the beginning, officials said.

“The past few days were a kind of test for what we’ll face in the weeks to come,” said Master Sgt. Dave Beaumont, of the 376th ESVS. “If we keep talking with each other and working toward the same goal of helping troops move (through here), we will get the job done.”