Commander: Airmen in for long haul at Bagram

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Where gravel was once the material of choice, concrete now sets in preparation for new buildings and storage areas at the Air Force sector here.

The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing is growing to match the organizational structure more common to other Air Force wings, said Brig. Gen. James P. Hunt, the wing’s commander. The restructuring marks the move from a temporary presence to an enduring presence for the unit whose primary mission is to provide aerial cover for U.S. and coalition ground troops in Afghanistan.

“I think we’ll see the wing getting a little larger for the next year or so as we consolidate operations in this area of the world to just a few bases to save personnel and resources,” General Hunt said.

On Nov. 30, the wing, more than 600 people strong, gained an expeditionary mission support group which includes senior leaders focused on living conditions and mission support for deployed Airmen. The new group also freed operations leaders to concentrate solely “on providing the best possible support to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines on the ground,” the general said.

As Camp Cunningham civil engineers worked on plans to accommodate about 35 more Airmen on the same 106,000 square feet of land, Airmen at one forward-deployed location in the region pulled up stakes. The base that once provided an operationally strategic advantage in the fight against terrorism closed Nov. 19. Deployments were cut short for some of those Airmen, sending them back home in time for the holidays. About 65 of them moved on to bolster manpower at other locations including Kandahar, Afghanistan, and to bases in Iraq. A select 35 Airmen moved here to support new missions and fill increased manning requirements.

“Rather than deploy new people from home bases to fill those billets, we decided to move some (of them) to Bagram to balance our requirements,” General Hunt said.

Months before the first of the Airmen entered Camp Cunningham’s gates, civil engineers worked on plans to construct the additional 24 wooden huts needed to provide working spaces and living quarters for the arriving Airmen.

Getting the huts constructed was not the challenge, said 2nd Lt. Lloyd Mangaroo, 455th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Flight commander. It was coordinating the camp power upgrade with Army and Bagram contractors. Also, to make room for the new facilities, the Airmen got rid of 9,000 tons of dirt, cloth and wire structures that made up the camp’s security walls.

“The different civil engineer functions had to assist other shops to meet deadlines and accomplish the mission,” Lieutenant Mangaroo said.

As office spaces were created, communications technicians connected and buried about 15,000 feet of electrical, telephone and computer network lines, and broadcast cables for 13 new facilities. Although burying their work under the packed, rocky dirt initially meant more work for the 455th Expeditionary Communications Flight Airmen, the team chose to dig in because going subterranean will make maintenance easier by increasing the reliability and survivability of the cable, said Capt. Ernie Baldree, the flight’s chief.

“[We] feel as if we have made a really big difference during this rotation as we have accomplished a great deal of extra work while still managing sustainment of communications capabilities of Camp Cunningham, which is what we are manned for,” Captain Baldree said.

General Hunt said the combined team has made significant changes to the camp since the beginning of their tour in September.

“Everyone has pulled together to make it happen,” General Hunt said. “The 455th AEW will probably be here at Bagram for a long time to come.

“After Afghanistan is stable, the 455th may start to slowly get smaller, but I think the wing will be here in Afghanistan for many years to come. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of [the Airmen] came back to the 455th again in a year or two,” the general said.