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Moving the goods

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Richard Williams
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  The organization and shipment of cargo and personnel is essential to maximizing the airlift capability that is vital to supporting the warfighter on the ground and ensuring the support needed to assist the people of Afghanistan.

No one here takes this more seriously than the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron.

Whether it is a mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicle, a single piece of mail from a loved one at home, or airlift to destinations in or out of country, the 455th AEW "Port Dawgs" ensure everything going to and from Afghanistan gets where it needs to go.

"I always joke with everyone and say 'if it isn't nailed down, my guys will move it,'" said Master Sgt. Joshua Tidwell, the 455th EAPS operations superintendent.

In December, 455th EAPS Airmen set a single day record of 936 short tons (1,872,000 pounds) of cargo and more than 2,000 passengers moved through Bagram in a 24 hour period. The team also set a monthly record of 20,556 short tons (41,112,000 pounds) of cargo and more than 42,000 passengers.

"Successfully executing a constantly changing flying schedule while managing this massive workload in an austere, combat environment takes a total team effort of disciplined professionals, said Lt. Col. Daniel J. Krall, the 455th EAPS commander. "It has been extraordinaire to witness the true professionals of the aerial port in action as they skillfully orchestrate this dynamic and complex operation."

The porters had an incredible departure reliability rate of 99 percent ensuring equipment and personnel were getting to the locations they needed in a safe, efficient manner.

"It truly takes a total force effort with the current deployment strain on the air transportation career field," said Chief Master Sgt. William Jackson, the 455th EAPS chief enlisted manager. "With almost 85 percent of the squadron being reservists and Guardsmen, our personnel are completely seamless from their active duty counterparts. We are truly proud of them and their hard work and dedication in 'moving mountains' each and every day."

"I am really proud of the job we are doing here and the milestones that have been accomplished during my time here so far," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Varley, a 455th EAPS load planner. "I am a reservist and it is nice to get out here, 'get dirty,' apply all of the training from home station, and see it pay off."

"The job that our Airmen have been doing here is amazing," Sergeant Tidwell said. "They got here in September and hit the ground and haven't looked back."

Not only has the process improved but the workload has been accomplished with one third the personnel of a normal port like Dover AFB, Del., he added.

"During the holidays, the post office had a 160,000 pound back log of mail that needed to get out," Sergeant Tidwell said. "We coordinated with coalition and commercial aircraft to try to ensure all of the packages got where they needed to go. Our short take off and landing team, which is a 10-man crew, set a single day record on Dec. 26, moving more than 51,000 pounds of mail."

"I have worked at some of the busiest aerial ports in the world, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Charleston AFB, S.C, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Balad Air Base, Iraq and now I am here at Bagram Airfield and the amount of cargo and personnel passing through rivals any of those locations," said Varley.

Planning has been a big key to the success of the squadron, Sergeant Varley said.

"On this rotation I am a load planner," he said. "I look at everything as if it were a big puzzle. I have to take size, shape and weight into consideration with every aircraft and ensure the pieces fit and priority requirements are met and guarantee that the aircraft can take off and land safely."

Requirements and space are not only issues when trying to upload an aircraft with personnel and cargo, sometimes there are difficulties downloading an aircraft as well.

Downloading is something Sergeant Tidwell said this rotation has perfected.

"We have reduced the time it takes to offload our aircraft in half," he explained. "We get aircraft in here as large as a 747 and our inbound cargo personnel have reduced the time it takes to offload items like the M-ATV. It took four and a half hours to offload five M-ATVs at the beginning of the rotation and now their personal best is 41 minutes."

"We have reduced the time cargo sits in our storage yard as well," Sergeant Varley said. The average wait time once cargo landed at Bagram averaged seven days; in four months, the cargo sit time was reduced to an average of three days.

Sergeant Varley, who recently volunteered to extend his tour at Bagram for a second consecutive rotation, stressed the importance of people and equipment getting to where it needs to go in a timely manner.

"The bottom line is what we are doing is extremely important here," Sergeant Varley said. "Everything that gets where it needs to go here is airlifted. It makes me proud because we keep people off the highways, minimizes risk, and I know we are supporting the smallest forward operating bases, so I get to give them a little slice of home. The 455th EAPS prides ourselves on doing it faster than everyone else."