Total-force effort supplies OEF

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
  • 455th Expeditionary Operations Group Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Every day, between 50 and 100 tons of equipment and supplies arrive here, flown in around the clock by a constant stream of cargo aircraft.

Since this is a combat environment, getting the aircraft down, unloaded and quickly off the ground again is extremely important. Keeping that logistical pipeline running smoothly and efficiently falls to the people of the Air Terminal Operations Center here.

“We do all the aircraft load planning, passenger terminal operations, logistics, loading and unloading that happens at a regular airport, except at a much higher pace,” said Master Sgt. Janet Coomes of the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. Sergeant Coomes is from the 67th Aerial Port Squadron, a Reserve unit at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

The entire center is made up of 28 guardsmen and reservists. Six of them come from Sergeant Coomes’ unit; two reservists are from the 69th APS in Maryland. The remaining Airmen are from the 109th Aerial Port Flight at Stratton Air National Guard Base, N.Y.

The center operates around the clock.

“I don’t think we have had a day when we didn’t have aircraft in,” said Master Sgt. Mark Mann, of the 455th ELRS who is here from the 109th APF. “We have to keep aircraft moving in and out quickly because we have a limited number of aircraft spaces on the ramp, so we have a pretty high tempo here.”

The high operations tempo sometimes requires the team to perform an engine-running offload. It is a challenging maneuver where the airplane parks, keeps the engine running while the Airmen remove the cargo and load any new cargo, and the aircraft immediately takes off. This speeds up the process and minimizes the time an aircraft spends on the ground, Sergeant Coomes said.

Loading and unloading cargo takes up much of the day. The most common aircraft are C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster IIIs, with an occasional C-141 Starlifter.

“Our favorite aircraft is the DHL Worldwide Express L-10,” said Sergeant Coomes. “That one brings in the mail and food, so we know people appreciate the cargo coming in.”

To unload the L-10, the team uses the next-generation small loader, or NGSL. That loader, which carries 25,000 pounds, is the only one that can rise 18 feet to the L-10’s cargo deck. For the rest of the aircraft, the team can use any loader.

“We prefer the NGSL because it has a roller system that automatically moves the pallets to the back of the loader,” Sergeant Mann said. “The rest of the loaders you have to physically push the pallet all the way onto the equipment.”

It takes the team up to an hour to unload an aircraft, depending on exactly what is aboard.

“When you have rolling stock, it takes a little less time, because you can drive the equipment off,” Sergeant Mann said. “We have this process down to an exact science, so when we have more than one aircraft on the ramp, we can break into three-person teams to get the job done quicker.”

One of the oddest pieces of cargo the team recently unloaded was the Burger King van for Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

“That took a lot of time because it was somewhat awkward,” Sergeant Coomes said. “We had to use a lot of material to shore the van up as we stair-stepped it off the aircraft.”

Besides cargo, the Airmen also move more than 9,000 passengers in and out of the area each month. Although the people can “self-load” onto an aircraft, “cargo doesn’t talk back,” Sergeant Mann joked.

With the amount of traffic on the flightline, the large numbers of inbound and outbound aircraft, and large numbers of passengers moving into and out of the area, safety is extremely important while on the flightline.

“We have to make sure we adhere to all Air Force loading instructions. We can’t load people on an aircraft carrying ammunition, for instance, or with a pallet of hazardous material,” Sergeant Coomes said.

Safety is also a major concern during nighttime operations, because much of the activity must be done in the dark.

“There have been some nights when you can’t see your hand in front of your face,” Sergeant Mann said. “We have a lot of briefings on safety practices, and we make sure that all the teams stay in constant communication. Everyone on the team also stays in contact with each other, and the team chief keeps track of everyone.”

Sergeants Coomes and Mann said they have a lot of pride in what they are currently doing and how they are affecting the ongoing operations against terrorists in Afghanistan.

“This is a big change from the stereotypical one weekend a month and two weeks a year,” Sergeant Mann said. “This isn’t the typical 9-to-5 job. We have all kinds of great challenges.”

This feeling pervades through the entire deployed team from New York -- all of who volunteered for the yearlong assignment. The 22-person Guard team spent four months at Dover AFB, Del., deployed to Bagram for four months, and then will return to Dover for the final four months.

“This is also a great opportunity to get out and see new locations,” Sergeant Coomes said. “I get a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I am helping another country become safer and give the people the opportunity to enjoy a number of those freedoms we have in the United States.”