Shindand Airmen play vital air mobility role

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Gary J. Rihn
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  When cargo aircraft touch down at Shindand Airfield, Afghanistan, it's the Airmen of the Air Terminal Operations Center that are responsible for unloading and then reloading them with cargo and passengers, a job they tackle 400 times every month.

Over a recent three month period, the Shindand crew moved 8.8 million pounds of cargo and close to 10,000 passengers. And they did it with just six Airmen.

While a normal Aerial Port unit has multiple sections, the remoteness and limited number of Airmen at Shindand forces the team there to perform multiple duties, including coordinating cargo, ramp, special handling, passenger movement and aircraft servicing.

"We have a great crew here; everyone is experienced and knows what they're doing. They make it look easy," said Staff Sgt. Henry Achilles, the ATOC non-commissioned officer in charge, deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

"We do a lot of work in a short amount of time. It's a very efficient crew; we click, we just make it happen," added Senior Airman Brandon Reid, who is on his third deployment in four years, this time from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

The vast majority of supplies needed to keep Shindand running arrives via airlift.

"They sustain the lifelines of food, fuel and supplies needed. Everybody here on this base utilizes something that has or will come through this flight line," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brent Warren, an air transportation manager visiting from Al Udeid Airfield, Qatar.

Recently the crew had the opportunity to load two Apache helicopters in the back of a C-17 Globemaster III. They were able to load and secure both helicopters in under two hours.

"We rocked that out, flawlessly. It was a huge movement, we worked it smoothly hand-in-hand with the Army," said Reid.

Besides the helicopter upload, the team often works with the Army on repositioning assets out of the Shindand area.

"For us here, we see a majority of what goes out of this region," said Staff Sgt. Cody Martin, night shift supervisor deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Besides cargo, a big part of the team's responsibility is the safe and efficient movement of passengers.

"Seeing people redeploy is the most rewarding part. It makes me feel good to know that I played a part in getting members back to people they love at home," said Achilles.