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AMC contingency response Airmen build future Afghan pilot training base

  • Published
  • By Roger Drinnon
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Airmen deployed from the 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., made a profound difference in Shindand, Afghanistan, by restoring an airfield, which will eventually become the home of the Afghan National Army Air Corps undergraduate pilot training.

As contingency response Airmen worked side-by-side with Afghan and Italian coalition forces, they developed indelible partnerships, as they turned rubble into a functional runway.

In August, 615th CRW Airmen deployed to assess an old airfield in Shindand to find out what was needed to make it fully operational at the request of the Combined Air Operations Center's director of mobility forces. True to the rapidly-deployable nature of AMC's contingency response Airmen, the Travis AFB 572nd Contingency Response Group's advanced team members arrived at Shindand within four days of the request. The remaining members of the team arrived within two weeks.

At the time of the CRG's arrival, very few aircraft could land at, or take off from, the rundown airfield. The CRG's initial task was to determine the requirements needed to enable it to accommodate a constant flow of Air Force C-130s along with Afghan and coalition airlift aircraft expected to transit the base as a result of the recent increase in airlift operations supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Assessment team members found the airfield, originally a Soviet fighter base built in 1961, in great disrepair from age and neglect. The CRG team found the airfield heaped with debris and scrap metal, and several buildings such as the control tower required restoration.

The 572nd CRG's director of operations who led the assessment said he felt a strong sense of impact and contribution for this mission.

"Our reports were able to provide early guidance to higher headquarters on how to continue coalition operations safely, while also providing input for a long-term solution to sustain air operations (at Shindand)," said Maj. Marshall Preston. "The airfield will have a long-lasting, positive impact on both coalition and Afghan forces."

In locations like Shindand where little military infrastructure exists, CRG specialists work to build up, improve and later expand the air mobility logistics system infrastructure and operating capacity. CRG team members provide initial, essential capabilities like command and control of logistics, communications, force protection, cargo and passenger and cargo handling/aerial port operations, airfield operations, flying operations, aircraft maintenance, and force accountability.  Team members also can expand an existing air base's infrastructure to provide airlift, aerospace ground equipment support, supply and other services necessary to project airpower and support ground operations. These Airmen exemplify the speed, agility and flexibility necessary for AMC to be able to deliver personnel and supplies to sustain our nation's fighting forces.

After the assessment at Shindand, CRG Airmen worked with ANAAC and Italian coalition members to establish initial operations at the airfield within two month's time. They quickly worked to restore an abandoned air traffic control tower, to repave the heavily-damaged airstrip, and to install airfield lighting. Four large craters were found on the runway - most likely from bombing during the onset of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 -- and were filled by Afghan contractors working with CRG team members shortly after their arrival. CRG Airmen also repaired plumbing and rewired several buildings, including some medical facilities.

One major role of the CRGs is to support the warfighter by deploying scalable teams as initial contingency transition forces. Once the CRG completes an air base opening or related mission, they turn the base over to follow-on forces. In this instance, repairs to establish essential operations were completed by CRG and coalition members in October. Afterward, a Combined Air Power Transition Force team assumed responsibility for building more upon the CRG's accomplishments.

After the CAPTF builds more airfield support infrastructure and facilities, the CAPTF in turn transitions responsibility for further development of the base to a coalition Master Planning Team. The Master Planning Team will build further upon the infrastructure, facilities and mobility system built up by both the 572nd CRG and the CAPTF and will establish the base as an ANAAC undergraduate pilot training base for the Afghans within the next two years.

AMC has two CRWs -- the 615th at Travis AFB and the 621st CRW at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The CRW's deploy cross-functional teams to rapidly open forward operating airbases in expeditionary environments for combatant commanders anywhere around the world. Additionally, CRW specialists assist in establishing safe, reliable air traffic control, communications and computer systems and emergency services such as aeromedical evacuation and fire and rescue response.

Another major role of the CRW's is to mentor and advise a host-nation's military toward building an interoperable partnership just as the 615th CRW has built with the ANAAC. AMC's CRWs promote worldwide peace and stability by working alongside international partners and coalition military members to help partner nations establish their own mobility systems.