Airmen help Soldiers keep OIF supplies rolling

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Marc Barnes
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  By moving nearly 1.3 million pounds of cargo in one day recently, Balad-based Airmen assigned to the Arrival/Departure Air Cargo Group are breaking new ground for cargo movement supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Airmen are part of Detachment 2632 of the 732nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, also based at Balad.

When they receive cargo from incoming flights, civilian contractors log the cargo and then load the pallets on tractor-trailers headed for the Army’s core distribution center. From there, the cargo is scheduled for convoy deliveries to other locations throughout Iraq. Det. 2632 vehicle operators haul the cargo to the distribution center.

Hauling the tons of cargo routed through Balad is a heavy workload, said Master Sgt. Lee Jamieson, the group’s superintendent. He said Airmen in the shop had previously moved 800,000 pounds or more in a single day, but moving more than 1 million pounds was a new record for the more than 30 Airmen who work in the group.

“We’re averaging 400,000 to 550,000 pounds per day, so moving (nearly 1.3 million) pounds in a day was nearly triple our average,” Sergeant Jamieson said.

And they are doing the work with fewer people than in previous rotations, said Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Celento, the chief of the detachment.

“The previous rotation had 40 to 45 people, so we've really increased efficiency and refined the process to be able to move this much cargo,” he said.

The huge workload is not getting the Airmen down, Sergeant Jamieson said. The Airmen understand the importance of what they are doing and are motivated to complete the mission.

“Everybody has good morale,” Sergeant Jamieson said. “We enjoy working with each other. Many of (our Airmen) are living and working together 24 hours a day, and you’d expect all that time together to get to them, but it hasn’t happened. Everybody gets along.”

One of the biggest challenges the Airmen face is long hours and little time off; they work day and night to keep cargo moving. But Chief Celento said the nonstop work is vital to the Army's OIF mission.

He said many things Soldiers need downrange are coming through here, and his Airmen handle everything from weapons, vehicle and aircraft parts to perishable food items. Sergeant Jamieson said that makes their mission vital to troops fighting on the front lines in Iraq.

“All the cargo that comes through here and to the core distribution center is going to another location off this base,” Sergeant Jamieson said. “And the quicker we get it to (the distribution center), the quicker they can get it down to be manifested on convoys and delivered to (servicemembers) who need it.”