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Airmen manage cargo at logistical hub in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  In the tense days following a suicide bombing at the gate of Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan, a small group of Airmen gear up and head to work checking supply trucks, despite the fact just yards away is where the attack took place. Such risks do not faze them, however,  they do have a job to do.

For six months, the Airmen and Soldiers from 495th Surface Military Cargo Team have searched and processed every supply truck entering or exiting FOB Salerno, the third largest logistical hub in Afghanistan.

"There's a lot of FOBs that are being built, and they need these supplies as fast as possible," said Tech. Sgt. Jonathen Uhde, NCO in charge of host nation trucking. "We try to get the trucks in there as quickly as possible to get those supplies to those FOBs."

With 60 to 100 trucks coming and going a day, they carry everything from Humvees to water to Hesco barriers. The surface MCT must clear every driver and scan every truck for any explosives before they can enter the FOB for loading or unloading. As the NCO in charge of host nation shipping, Sergeant Uhde, who is deployed from the Joint Personnel Property Shipping Office in Colorado Springs, Colo., serves as a liaison between units and the carriers. He ensures units know when their equipment is coming and going and the drivers get it from point A to point B.

A typical day for Sergeant Uhde begins early in the morning. After ensuring all documents are in order, loading up the Humvee with water, first aid kits and radios, they don their individual body armor and head "outside the wire" to the cargo yard. They secure the yard and round up all the third country national and local truck drivers.

"We disburse all the paperwork, get everybody who is coming in and line them up. We get all the trucks, scan those trucks," said Staff Sgt. Arnoldo Vazquez, a traffic management craftsman deployed from Eielson Air Force Base, Ala. They also confirm the next days crew. "So we are doing two missions at one time -- getting people coming in today and people that are coming in the next day."

Two-thirds of the surface MCT are Airmen. These Airmen are filling a job normally done by soldiers. Working outside the wire everyday, the risk to the Airmen is significant.

"We are the first ones to actually see the trucks," said Sergeant Vazquez, a native of North Hollywood, Calif. "As far as it being dangerous out there -- it's dangerous."

On Afghanistan Independence Day in August a suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate. Had the surface MCT members been in the cargo yard at the time, they would have been exposed to the explosion.

"We just shut down business and waited until all was clear," Sergeant Uhde said of that day. "It was an eye-opener. I really try not to let it enter my mind when I go out there, because I know we got a job to do and I don't want it to interfere with what I am doing. I want to make sure everything runs smoothly, and everything we do out there is being done safely. My mind has got to be in the game."

"It just comes with the territory, everyday we go out," Sergeant Vazquez said. "Expect the worst, hope for the best -- that's what we do every day."

Despite the danger, Sergeants Uhde and Vazquez said they are enjoying their first Operation Enduring Freedom deployment. For both, working with the locals is a highlight of the deployment.

"It's hard to describe because I never thought I'd be in Afghanistan, never pictured myself coming to a place like this," said Sergeant Uhde, who has deployed nine times before. "The people are different, their culture is different. Dealing with them every day, you learn something new every day. They like to tell you about their culture. They are not afraid to share -- tell you what they believe, what they don't like, what they can and cannot do. We try to respect that, but also they have to respect us for what we do out here."

On what he hopes is his last deployment, interacting with the locals on a daily basis has given meaning to the deployment for Sergeant Vazquez.

"You have kind of an incentive for waking up in the morning and going out there," he said. "When you see a 3- to 5-year-old kid asking for a bottle of water, and you give it to him and it looks like it is the happiest day of his life, it gives you a reason to be out here."

The Airmen and soldiers of the surface MCT do have a reason to be there - they're helping keep FOB Salerno safe and ensuring the delivery of much-needed supplies, one cargo truck at a time.


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