Bashur Airfield on roll; future still not set

  • Published
  • By Louis A. Arana-Barradas
  • Air Force Print News
OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM --  After two weeks of living on the edge of the noisy flightline, the airmen at Bashur Airfield in northern Iraq, moved their camp to higher ground.

But the move -- 100 yards farther away from the airstrip - does not mean the 86th Expeditionary Contingency Response Group is planting roots at this windswept base.

Group commander Col. Steve Weart said the unit has done what it set out to do -- establish air operations at this base 255 miles north of Baghdad. But as fast as it set up here, the group could pack up and go elsewhere to open up a new air base, he said.

"We've prepared the airfield," he said. "So if our leaders determine there's a long-term future for it, follow-on forces will get a base already in an operational phase."

Living and working at the base is no picnic. It is hot and dusty during the day and cold at night in tents with no heat. But the 86th ECRG airmen -- and those deployed to help them -- have little time to worry about the conditions. They are working around the clock to unload cargo aircraft.

In the more than two weeks the group has been here, it turned the airfield into the biggest coalition airlift hub in northern Iraq. Airmen have unloaded more than 12 million pounds of cargo and 3,200 troops from more than 200 C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-130 Hercules transports.

For now, there is no sign of an airlift slowdown, said Lt. Col. Mike Marra, the group's commander from the 86th Air Mobility Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. But things could change.

"As the war progresses in the south, this base will be seen as too far north," said Marra, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla. "Soon we'll open a base further (south)."

The airmen on the night shift have borne the brunt of the airlift load. Working with night-vision goggles in the blackout conditions, they have set the standard for nighttime operations, he said.

Twenty key members of the group, including Weart, parachuted into the base March 26. They landed in a wide valley that had received a week's worth of rain.

"The mud was knee deep the day of the drop," he said. All the group members landed safely.

Once on the ground, Weart knew there would have to be a change of plans. The group set up camp on the fringe of the aircraft ramp so its people and equipment would not bog down in the mud. That cut some of the airfield's capability to receive aircraft.

"Before we could start operations, we had to first think of the safety of our people and where to put our equipment," he said.

Still, the group was ready to receive aircraft less than one hour after landing. The first aircraft arrived the second day. After settling in, the group realized it had not lost any capability.

Now the airlift job has become a manageable routine. The airmen have adapted to the austere way of life, and morale is high.

"As I see it -- on a scale of 1 to 10 -- I'd say our morale is a high 8," said Staff Sgt. Deborah Gililland, a group information manager from Pella, Iowa. "We have a job to do, and we're here to do it."

Weart said his troops have done "a great job" and have safely turned in a record-setting performance in aircraft download time. They have unloaded some aircraft in as little as five minutes.

Overall, the group's operation has gone well beyond Weart's expectation. He had no doubt his troops could do the job, but there are always twists when setting up in a combat zone.

After the group parachuted into the base with the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, which moved out earlier this week, the airmen took charge of the airfield. Group security forces now provide base security with help from some soldiers and Iraqi Kurd forces.

The group's mission is far from over, and it could be at Bashur "many more weeks," Weart said. No matter, he said, the group is ready for what may come.

"We're prepared to receive humanitarian goods and material for rebuilding infrastructure in this area, if necessary," Weart said. "Fortunately, we haven't seen a need for a whole lot of humanitarian goods yet. But we're prepared to receive them."

If there are other plans for the field, he said the group is flexible and will adapt. The U.S. military might want to put other units at the base, which already has a combat search and rescue unit. Or the unit could return to its home at Ramstein AB. Then, it may get the order to move to another location in Iraq.

"Whatever happens, we'll keep improving this base so follow-on forces have a more workable environment," Weart said. "Or we could pack up and go home and turn over the base to the Iraqi people."