Building an Afghan air wing; proudly serving

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. David R. Staton
  • 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Charged with building an operational and sustainable air wing for the Afghan National Army Air Force, Airmen from the 738th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group, located in Southern Afghanistan, are up to the challenge.

Starting with only a handful of air advisors the 738 AEAG officially stood up in October 2009. Today with 55 Airmen and one Soldier from 42 different career fields, the group continues to grow. Although small in numbers, the accomplishments and progress of this multifaceted joint team are mountainous! Advising and mentoring the Kandahar Air Wing into a fully operational, sustainable ANAAF wing is not just our mission, it is our passion.

From the top, Col. Bernard Mater of Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, who advises Maj. Gen. Abdul Raziq Sherzai, the Kandahar Air Wing commander, to Staff Sgt. Jason Keogh of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., an aerial port technician and advisor, the attitude is simple: Everything we do must focus on supporting and advising the Kandahar Air Wing on order... the production, projection and support of effective Afghan combat power, anytime, anywhere!

The men and women of the 738th AEAG work tirelessly day after day next to their Afghan counterparts literally building the air wing from the ground up. Being a small tenant group on a large NATO base, we are a very close team and work together to accomplish the mission and take care of one another. There is a great family atmosphere within the group.

When I first saw the advertisement for a group superintendent in Afghanistan I was intrigued by the additional remarks of "Primary advisor to the KAW command sergeant major." So I made a quick phone call to my wife who said, "I can hear the excitement in your voice.  Go for it baby." and the rest is history, literally! 

Quite honestly, I had very little knowledge of what I was volunteering for but the idea of being a group superintendent not only "in the fight" but being a senior enlisted advisor to an Afghan senior enlisted leader sounded like the opportunity of a life time.  I have not been disappointed.

Every day I have the honor and privilege of working with our Afghan partners and some of the military's most dedicated Airmen and Soldiers who all share a deep devotion to successfully complete our mission.

In the short six months since arriving at Kandahar, I have witnessed countless milestones in the efforts of building the Kandahar Air Wing.  From professional development of the enlisted corps to Afghan pilots performing combat missions unassisted, the growth of this Afghan air wing has been huge. Whether conducting medical evacuations, conducting troop or distinguished visitor movements, generating and fixing aircraft or accomplishing myriad mission support functions, this air wing is significantly contributing to the overall efforts of rebuilding Afghanistan.

Combat missions aren't the only success stories of the Kandahar Air Wing. In February, after a torrential rainfall, a local village elder called upon the Kandahar Air Wing staff for help when civilians were stranded and surrounded by water, caught between the flooding of two rivers. General Sherzai quickly answered the call and directed his wing into action, resulting in the first humanitarian rescue operation of the four month old wing. General Sherzai, his aircrew and U.S. Air Force air advisors teamed to successfully rescue 83 men, women and children. This was a proud day for members of the Kandahar Air Wing and the 738 AEAG, and demonstrated that the government of Afghanistan was capable of providing the safety and security of its citizens.

In March, the KAW Maintenance Group commander, Col. Mohammad Nasir, proclaimed he no longer needed to send the wing's aircraft to Kabul for 50-hour inspections. His maintainers were ready to complete the inspections and maintenance themselves!  An Afghan national quality assurance team watched the Kandahar maintainers perform, and perform they did!  

From nose to tail, the maintainers conducted preventative maintenance on the airframe, the engine and rotor, hydraulics, electrical and communication systems. The KAW maintainers were certified on the 50-hour inspection. This resulted in an eight percent increase in aircraft availability because the Mi-17 helicopter no longer has to fly a 4-hour round trip to Kabul every 50 flight hours for this inspection.  KAW maintainer successes extend well beyond aerial missions and maintenance.

One of the most obvious and noteworthy improvements within the Kandahar Air Wing is the success of the security forces. The 738th AEAG's security forces team of three advisors has worked "shohna ba shohna"  -- Dari for "shoulder to shoulder" -- with the Afghan security forces, building a strong, cohesive and competent team.

Led by Capt. Matthew Kowalski of Lackland AFB, Texas, the security forces advisors were critical to the first NATO weapons training and tactics qualification for the ANAAF, ensuring 150 soldiers were trained and fully qualified.  When the adjacent Kandahar Air Field came under ground attack from insurgents in May, the Kandahar Air Wing security forces quickly responded, unassisted by the advisors. With their quick response force ready to fight and the base perimeter and entry control points secured, the KAW security forces were prepared to defend the base!

Part of building the Kandahar Air Wing involves building a professional enlisted corps and Command Sgt. Maj. Mohammed Hassan, a former security forces senior NCO is the man for the job.  At only 25 years of age, CSM Hassan was hand-selected by General Sherzai because of his motivation, discipline, focus and superb duty performance.

Advising the CSM has been exciting and extremely rewarding. During early meetings I was taken aback by the lack of involvement and lack of a real relationship the CSM had with senior officers or any officers for that matter. Quite honestly, it was a little difficult for me to understand as this was an obvious and major difference from what I was used to. However, from the beginning Colonel Mater set the tone about the importance of his enlisted leaders and mentored his counterpart on ways he could use his enlisted leaders to make the wing better.

Colonel Mater and I have stuck together on everything and the example we have set as a team really has made all the difference!  Only a few short months later General Sherzai and CSM Hassan's relationship has grown very similar to that of mine and Colonel Mater's. Quite simply, they are a great team, working to build a better, stronger air wing.

While working on the framework of officer and enlisted relationships was important, my primary focus has been on the development of and taking care of the enlisted force. With the help of senior NCOs in the 738th AEAG , the Kandahar Air Wing staff is building the first Top-III organization, the CSM is holding enlisted calls and mentoring sessions between him and his soldiers, and the list goes on.

The CSM and his position have grown tremendously and are only getting better. His most recent success was overseeing and executing the inaugural enlisted promotion process, a task which six months ago would have been the responsibility of an officer.

Working with the phenomenal 738 AEAG team, next to CSM Hassan and with General Sherzai and his entire staff of professionals, continues to be an experience I feel fortunate to have.

As I look forward to the second half of my deployment, I am eager to see the many accomplishments yet to come from this U.S. Air Force advisory group and the Kandahar Air Wing. This truly is a "make a difference" opportunity of a life time and one this chief always will treasure.  Proudly serving in Afghanistan.