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Joint Base MDL Airman supports visit to Kyrgyzstan NCO academy

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  A senior airman deployed from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., recently supported a "relationship-building" visit to a Kyrgyz noncommissioned officer academy Oct. 20 in Koi Tash, Kyrgyzstan.

Senior Airman Ilya Volovik, deployed with the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgystan, was among 20 U.S. servicemembers who visited the Koi Tash NCO Academy, a 376th AEW Public Affairs report showed Oct. 26.

The report, by public affairs officer Maj. John Elolf, said "the meeting began with a two-hour introduction and question and answer session. After the introductions, members of the Transit Center were provided a tour of the Koi Tash facilities and Soviet(-era) tanks and equipment."

Airman Volovik is deployed from Air Mobility Command's 87th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, 87th Air Base Wing, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. According to 87th ABW Web site, the wing provides installation management support for 3,933 facilities with an approximate value of $9.3 billion in physical infrastructure. More than 42,000 Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, civilians and their family members living and working on and around Joint Base MDL contribute to the economic impact for the state of New Jersey.

At the 87th AMDS, Airman Volovik's home unit, the squadron supports the operational Air Force "by enhancing the health of its people, ensuring a fit force, preventing disease and injury, protecting the environment, and anticipating medical contingencies," the Web site states. Staff members, like Airman Volovik, provide a comprehensive population-based preventive medicine program for all beneficiaries to enhance wellness, performance, and readiness as well as assist the managed care function in implementing evidence-based, cost-effective practices."

Chief Master Sgt. James Lucas, command chief for the 376th AEW, said in the news report by Major Elolf the visit to the Kyrgyz academy was a success. The chief said in the story that the visit was "just one more example of the common bond that exists between military men and women. Regardless of language or culture, there is healthy mutual respect that exists between NCOs."

Airman Volovik's deployed unit -- the 376th AEW -- has mobility aircraft such as the KC-135 Stratotanker and C-17 Globemaster III assigned. On the air refueling side in 2009, KC-135s deployed there off-loaded more than 190 million pounds of fuel to more than 14,500 receivers during 3,400-plus missions. The C-17s there support airlift operations for Operation Enduring Freedom daily and recently supported flood relief operations in Pakistan.

The Transit Center at Manas was activated in December 2001 when coalition forces deployed to Manas International Airport and began supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the 376th AEW fact sheet states. The base continues to promote regional stability in Central Asia.

(Maj. John Elolf, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)