COMMENTARY>>Kandahar Airmen airdrop supplies to troops, prepare for troop increase
By Staff Sgt. Angelique Smythe 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Airmen of the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here dropped 56 containerized delivery systems over three different drop zones within Afghanistan from the same aircraft Jan. 27 to support Operation Enduring Freedom warfighters.
“It’s more bundles than we’ve ever been able to drop in one day,” said Maj. Joe Framptom, deployed from 41st Airlift Squadron, a 772nd EAS operations officer.
“We’re testing it to iron out any kinks, so we’ll be able to go full speed and do more airdrops like this once the new rigging facility opens up,” he said.
The Army 82nd Airborne Corps’ new rigging facility, soon to be open, is where Soldiers will build CDS bundles filled with equipment and supplies needed to be airdropped to forward operating bases within Afghanistan. CDS bundles may include Meals, Ready to Eat, water, fuel, ammunition and medical supplies.
It takes a joint effort as well as a total wing effort to resupply troops in the field. Once the bundles are built, Airmen from the air terminal operations center receive them from the Army to load onto a C-130J Super Hercules for delivery via airdrop.
Airmen from the operations and maintenance groups ensure mission success through keeping the aircraft operational and the sorties on time and on target.
“Basically, everyone in the wing -- the operations group, maintenance group and mission support group -- works together to get this done to support the Army,” Major Framptom said. “That’s really what we’re here to accomplish.”
The airdrops combat improvised explosive devices by keeping vehicles and troops off the roads and by allowing the Army to stage in places they wouldn’t otherwise be able to set up as some forward operating bases are inaccessible except by air. Some FOBs are also too big to be resupplied solely by helicopter.
Resupplying servicemembers in the field is a very important part of the mission for this team.
“It enables those guys to get out and do their mission, knowing their supply lines are secure,” Major Framptom said.
The test comes as a part of preparation for the increase of troops in the southern region of Afghanistan, as well as an increased demand for airdrop.
“The new rigging facility represents the increase in capacity to be able to resupply more Soldiers in the field,” Major Framptom said. “They built the new facility in order to rig more bundles and be able to support more airdrops in theater. This test is to see if we can actually handle the volume that’s going to be produced once that new rigging facility opens up.”
Before Jan. 27, the most number of CDS bundles the aircrew had ever dropped in one day was 40; two drops of 20 each. For their test, they loaded and airdropped 20 bundles, returned for another 20, and then an additional 16 for their final mission.
Each bundle weighed between 1,500 to 2,000 pounds. As the aircraft reaches the destination, pilots angle it upward with the rear door opened. The strap is cut and each bundle rolls as gravity pulls them out of the aircraft, and then their parachutes deploy.
“We’re expecting to see about a 250-percent increase in the number of airdrops we can support here,” Major Framptom said.
“We’ve had to go to Bagram (Airfield in Afghanistan) a lot in the past to load. With this new rigging facility, we’ll be able to load here, which means we’ll be able to get more supplies to our Soldiers faster.”
COMMENTARY>>Chaplains meet spiritual needs of Airmen
By Chaplain (Capt.) Sean Randall 19th Airlift Wing, chaplain
We carry no guns, yet U.S. Air Force chaplains are considered a force multiplier in the war theater.
Today in Iraq, Afghanistan and at home, the military expects its chaplains to meet the spiritual needs of today’s warfighters.
But it also recognizes the Chapel Corps’ importance in everything from counseling the hurting, encouraging the dejected and to being a leveling moral presence among the Airmen. Mixing faith and patriotism is a part of our higher call of duty.
In every war fought, there have been spiritual leaders who brought a message of hope and counsel to the men and woman in battle. Elisha the Prophet is one such leader. Today, we might call him a military chaplain. It was said that he had an ear for the voice of the Lord. He knew about the strategies and tactics of the Syrian army that had laid ambushes to destroy the Israeli army. Elisha was used of God to save the lives of the Israeli military repeatedly by revealing the enemy’s plans.
We continue to see U.S. Air Force chaplains answering the call of God to serve both God and country. Today, our chaplains stand with commanders, officers and enlisted alike, offering wisdom and insight that come from on high.
An outstanding illustration of the role and ministry of the chaplain comes to us from the Gulf War nearly 20 years ago. Gen. Ronald Griffith, former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, and the commander of the U.S. 1st Armored Division in the Gulf War tells his amazing story regarding his unique relationship with his chaplain, Danny Davis, and the influence of prayer and God’s intervention in that historic war.
Although our military forces that fought in Desert Storm were the best trained and equipped of all armies that have ever fought, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and our generals feared there might be mass casualties and thousands of wounded men.
After a long extended staff meeting held by General Griffith in the desert prior to the invasion of Iraq, Chaplain Davis approached the general and asked for a private meeting with him.
Chaplain Davis asked, “General Griffith, what’s bothering you, Sir? I sense you are under a lot of stress and worried. I see it in your body language and hear it in your voice. Would you like to tell me about it?”
The general told him about his great concern for the men. The thoughts of having to send his men home in body bags to their moms and dads, wives and sweethearts and brothers and sisters tormented him day and night.
Chaplain Davis said to the General, “Sir, I have been talking with God. He has told me that the battle will not be long and drawn out. It will last only a matter of hours. You will not suffer mass casualties and injured men. The battle is not yours, but the Lord’s. Go to bed . . . get a good night of rest . . . be at peace.”
General Griffith said, “I sensed that God himself had spoken to me through my chaplain. I went to my tent, got into my bunk, fell asleep immediately and slept soundly for about four hours.”
What was the result? The war lasted only a matter of hours. There were only four casualties and 57 men wounded in the division. He continued, “I want to give God all the glory, and thank him for giving me a chaplain, a man of God, who hears from heaven.”
One sage from historical documents by the name of Solomon, wrote, “The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry.” (The Message translation).
The U.S. military chaplaincy was born of a combination of desire and need. As Gen. George Washington battled the British, he desperately wanted providence on his side. In order to ensure this, he reasoned his troops needed to be above reproach - and one way to ensure this was to have chaplains as a part of his team. Washington wanted chaplains to be religious leaders, but they were also to visit the wounded, take care of the dead, write letters home for Soldiers who couldn’t write and give discourses of a patriotic nature to keep the Soldiers from deserting. The chaplain became a very important link between the commander and the troops.
In the Civil War, their first duty was to advise the commander on the moral and spiritual health of the unit and then make any other suggestions for the happiness of the Soldier.
When Col. Ulysses S. Grant took command of the 21st Illinois infantry regiment, he had a Methodist chaplain, James Crane.
One day Colonel Grant ordered a Soldier to be tied to a tree and whipped for desertion. As they began to apply 50 lashes, Colonel Grant asked Chaplain Crane, “Chaplain do you think this is a good sentence?”
The chaplain said, “I don’t think it’s my place to say anything about that.”
Colonel Grant said, “No, it is your place. You need to advise me about whether what we’re doing is what we should be doing ... I know what the law permits; what I want to hear from you is whether you think this is the right thing to do.”
The chaplain said, “I think it’s an excessive number.” So Colonel Grant stopped at 25.
As one of Team Little Rock’s Chaplain Corps it is both my privilege and calling to serve beside you during a time of war. The vision is clear, “Mission first and people always.” And our ministry is to the people.
By Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Brinkley 19th Airlift Wing command chief
Today, I’d like to give you something to ponder that may help you better communicate and connect with those around you.
Often we find ourselves frustrated with others because we primarily focus on what’s important to us while not considering the focus of those around us. When you communicate with others, do you listen to refute or do you listen to gain a better understanding?
From the household to the battlefield, communication is the lifeblood of everything we do. Yet, I submit to you that if we tried to gain perspective of why people see things the way they do, our dialogue would be more productive. Things such as life experience, background or environment contribute to how each of us views the world. How much do you know about the people you communicate with?
Think about the times you have tried to communicate with someone and they can’t seem to internalize what you’re trying to say. The challenge is helping them see why you can view the same picture through different lenses. You bridge the understanding gap by investing time and patience in getting to know those around you better. I promise if you show an interest in seeing things through other’s eyes, they will begin to do the same for you.
Sometimes you listen with your ears, and sometimes you listen with your eyes through observation. Sometimes you listen through understanding the experiences of others because our experiences form the way we see everything around us. When people see you are genuinely trying to understand them, they will make more of an effort to understand you. As leaders, followers and teammates, we owe it to one another to build upon our diverse background and grow together by looking through the eyes of others.
TOP STORY > >Team Little Rock promotes 53 to major
The 2009 major promotion central selection board results were released Feb. 4. The selection rate for line officers in primary zone was 93.7 percent and the rate for above primary zone was 11.7 percent. The Judge Advocate General selection rate for in the zone captains was 95 percent while the above primary zone rate was zero percent. The promotion rate for the Chaplain Corps was 64.3 percent for in primary zone captains and 37.5 percent for those above the primary zone, however, Little Rock Air Force Base did not have any captains competing for major in this cycle. Those selected for promotion from LRAFB are:
19th Operations Group Matthew Mihalick Raul Ochoa, Jr. Cory Waldroup
19th Operations Support Squadron Christopher Allen Sean Callahan Matthew Campbell Denny Davies Scott Stone
30th Airlift Squadron Jonathan Durham John Malley Keith Young
41st Airlift Squadron Justin Diehl Shawn Johnson Thomas Sonne Barry Weaver Marc Woodworth 50th Airlift Squadron Pedro Caetano Steven Gregor Sergio Saenz
53rd Airlift Squadron Zan Sproles
61st Airlift Squadron Douglas Curran Michael Ueda
34th Combat Training Squadron Bryan Cooper Jeremy Patrick 19th Maintenance Operations Squadron David Reilly
19th Force Support Squadron Daniel Dahl Sharon Gregory
19th Security Forces Squadron Robert Shaw, Jr.
314th Airlift Wing Sean Gagnon
314th Operations Group David Lann James Warren
48th Airlift Squadron Dean Allen Mark Harbison
62nd Airlift Squadron Douglas Buchholz John Fay Johnpaul Kilker Leonard Miller Robert Peters
29th Weapons John Hendrickson Christopher Killeen
714th Training Squadron Jason Fodor
45th Airlift Squadron Jason Gray Captains in-bound to Little Rock Air Force Base selected for promotion include: Devin Cummings Robert Cureton Brian Huster Jonathan Magee Kevin Mandrik Captains selected for promotion who have recently departed LRAFB but are still assigned include: Stephan DeHass Andrew Judkins Joseph Nicholas Ronald Nolte
There will be a promotion party on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the LRAFB Conference Center. All base personnel are invited to come celebrate the accomplishments of these promotion selectees.
TOP STORY > >Team Little Rock unified in Haiti relief effort
By Capt. Joe Knable 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- An augmented crew from Little Rock Air Force Base’s 41st Airlift Squadron flew the base’s eighth C-130 Hercules transport airplane into Haiti Jan. 20 as part of Air Mobility Command’s participation in Operation Unified Response, the Haitian earthquake relief efforts.
The airplane, a C-130J model that flies higher, faster, farther, carries more cargo and requires fewer crew members to fly than legacy C-130 aircraft, was the fifth plane to join the relief effort from the squadron. The other three C-130s were sent by the 50th, 53rd and 61st Airlift Squadrons.
The 41st AS is the first active duty C-130J squadron in the contiguous U.S. states. It’s the only unit to man the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, which it has been continually supporting since February, 2009. More than 50 percent of the squadron is currently supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Including Operation Unified Response, the squadron is now more than 75 percent tasked.
“We have a very solid (training) system in place, so when something like this happens, we just go out there and execute it,” said Maj. Gary Penna, who is coordinating the squadron’s efforts with OUR. “We take a lot of pride in what we do, we’re very good at what we do, and we want to help out as much as we can.”
“Even though it says it’s a 41st Airlift Squadron mission, it’s a ‘Team Little Rock’ effort,” said Lt. Col. Gilberto Martinez, the squadron’s commander. The crew includes a loadmaster from the 34th Combat Training Squadron, a pilot from the 19th Operations Group, and two crew chiefs from the 19th Maintenance Group.
Normally, a C-130J can fly with three crewmembers: two pilots and one loadmaster. This particular mission called for a crew of eight, including an additional loadmaster, the maintenance crew chiefs, and two Fly Away Security Team (FAST) Security Forces Airmen from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. In addition to the FAST. Airmen at Pope, the crew picked up medical supplies, an Army Humvee, and a few dozen Army Rangers from the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, N.C.
The Rangers were brought in to deliver security and resupply the Haitians, said 1st Lt. Fredrick Lough, the platoon’s commander.
After another short stop at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., the C-130 touched down at the Port-Au-Prince international airport at 12:05 a.m. Jan. 20. The crew was in and out in a hurry; these parking spots are prime real estate. All of the Soldiers and cargo were unloaded in approximately eight minutes. The plane was on the ground in Haiti for about an hour.
The airport was a beehive of activity. While the C-130 was being unloaded, a marshaller started to direct a large commercial airplane about 100 feet too close to the C-130. Tech. Sgt. Steve Nader, a loadmaster on the crew from Little Rock AFB’s 34th CRS, recognized the hazard and ran at the marshaller to redirect the jumbo jet off its collision course, sparing the planes untold damage, the crew from being stranded in Haiti and a potentially devastating delay at the airport. At Sergeant Nader’s warning, the marshaller immediately waived the incoming aircraft away from the C-130.
“The mission went really well; we got everything turned over really fast,” said Sergeant Nader. “I’m just doing my part to help out.”
“It was great flying into Haiti because this is really why I chose (tactical) airlift; I really wanted to do the humanitarian aid and relief (missions),” said Capt. Cory Waldroup, the mission commander. “It’s definitely a milestone in my career. I’ll always be able to look back and say I took part in the relief efforts in Haiti.”
After this mission, the crew remained on stand-by at Pope AFB, ready for another mission to Haiti. “We’ve only just begun (to help),” said Capt. Waldroup.
TOP STORY > >AF officials return high-year tenure rates to previous
By Master Sgt. Russell P. Petcoff Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
WASHINGTON – Air Force manpower and personnel officials announced Thursday a return of enlisted high-year-of-tenure limits to their pre-2003 levels.
“We’ve considered returning HYT limits to their normal levels for several years. Now that our Air Force end strength is stabilizing, it is an appropriate time to return back to the pre-2003 levels,” said Mr. Tom Voegtle, chief of the retirements and separations policy branch at the Pentagon.
High year of tenure is the maximum years of service a member may remain on active duty in relation to his or her enlisted grade.
The HYT for senior master sergeant, master sergeant, technical sergeant and senior airman will return to 26, 24, 22 and 10 years, respectively. The HYT limits for both chief master sergeant (30 years) and staff sergeant (20 years) will remain the same since they were not raised in 2003, Mr. Voegtle said.
The change will initially affect approximately 2,500 Airmen; 500 senior airmen, 400 technical sergeants, 1,200 master sergeants and 400 senior master sergeants.
The new HYT effective date for master sergeant is April 1, 2011; for technical sergeant, Aug. 1, 2011; and, for senior airman, Sept. 1, 2011. The effective date for senior master sergeant is Jan. 1, 2012. The timeline provides Airmen additional opportunities to compete for promotion or plan for separation or retirement from active duty.
All Airmen who separate due to HYT will receive involuntary separation pay. Technical, masterand senior master sergeants may apply for full retirement if leaving active duty due to reaching their HYT just as they would under existing policy.
While the new HYT is applicable now, Airmen who will be “over” their HYT as the policy is normalized will be allowed to remain on active duty until no later than the effective date for their corresponding grades.
An Airman’s total active federal military service date will determine whether he or she is under the old or new HYT limit. For example, a senior airman whose TAFMSD is Aug. 31, 2001, or earlier would separate under his or her original HYT date or Sept. 1, 2011, whichever comes first.
If the senior airman’s HYT date is after Aug. 31, 2001, that Airman’s date would be adjusted to the new 10-year limit. In other words, the Airman will now be required to separate at the 10-year point rather than the 12-year point if he or she is not promoted to staff sergeant.
Airmen overseas who will reach HYT before they are scheduled to return will receive new dates in accordance with the revised policy, Mr. Voegtle said. Also, deployed Airmen and those soon to deploy who are affected by the policy change will return no later than 30 days before their new HYT date.
The new HYT requirements will not affect the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill.
Airmen opting to transfer their Post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits to family members will still be able to transfer these benefits even if their new HYT dates prevent them from completing the required active-duty service commitments.
Extensions of HYT are still applicable under existing guidelines.
These include reasons, such as extreme personal hardship or when an extension is clearly in the best interest of the Air Force, Mr. Voegtle said.
This change to policy will not affect Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard members.
The Air Force has a longstanding tradition of taking care of its people, and will continue this tradition through this process and beyond, Mr. Voegtle said.
“There will be no change in retirement or separation pay benefits, and the Air Force is committed to providing our Airmen and their families with an open and transparent process,” he added.
Individuals who have questions regarding this policy change or any personnel issue can contact the 24/7 Total Force Service Center toll-free at 800-525-0102 or visit www.afpc.randolph.af.mil.
I recently had the privilege of spending some time with some World War II veterans from the 62nd Airlift Squadron. This group of veterans and their family members get together during the first week of December each year to reminisce. Just by being around and listening in as they talked to each other, I picked up little tidbits of history that otherwise might have gone unrecorded. Here is what I learned this year from “the guys,” as everyone likes to call them. I was talking with Jack Downhill, a tall, lanky fly-boy in his day, about the time President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the 314th Troop Carrier Group at Castelvetrano, Sicily. If anyone was to play Jack in a movie about the airlift operations it would have to have been Jimmy Stewart. Jack has that same instant likeableness that draws people around him- I doubt he has ever met a stranger. All the squadrons had built their own Officer’s Club and each wanted the president to have his evening reception at their O’club. The 32nd Troop Carrier Squadron won the honor, but the 62 TCS doctor, who had a knack for such things, was called over to tend bar. Jack told the story,
“Dr. Mahoney was his name – he was called to go tend bar for the president. He came back and told us all about it. Apparently, after Mahoney served the president his martini- that’s all the president drank you know – the president, in the way he talked with that rising and falling timber to his voice, said, ‘Mr. Mahoney, this is the best damn Martini I’ve had since I left Washington,’ well that’s what he came back and told us all anyway – and you can just imagine it – he [Mahoney] was quite excited about it.”
Coincidently, the 314 AW recently came across a photo of the 314th’s World War II commander, Col. Clayton Stiles, escorting the president in a jeep specially designed for the occasion. It’s thebest picture of the event located to date.
Here’s another story I heard from several of the guys. In mid-December 1944, the Germans, taking advantage of some bad weather, attacked the weakly held Allied position in the Ardennes Forest. This is the battle we know as the Battle of the Bulge- named for the bulge in the Allied line created by the German advance. Finally, on Dec. 23, the weather cleared and air power entered the fight. The guys talked about flying in reinforcements and supplies to these hard-pressed Allied forces. On Christmas Eve 1944, the 314th transported reinforcements from the 17th Airborne Division to a small airfield in Belgium. After dropping off the paratroops, the guys pulled out their sleeping bags and spent that Christmas Eve of 1944 sleeping in their C-47s. As Chet Ross, a 62 TCS crew chief, remembered, they didn’t get much sleep, “It was so cold on the floor of those airplanes, and the sleeping bags were so thin,” he said, “that you had to lie on one side for awhile and then it would get so cold that you would wake up and have to flip over- and this went on all night, so we didn’t get much sleep at all.”
Lastly, I had the privilege of meeting for the first time and talking with David Mondt. He was 19 years old when he joined the Army Air Corps and had the nickname “baby.” When looking at his photo, with his leather flying helmet and jacket, you can see why. It’s hard to believe this young kid was flying combat missions and getting shot at by enemy troops, but he had a certain swagger that didn’t match his youthful looks. The guys like to tell the story of how they were in formation one day as a visiting commander conducted an inspection. When he came to Dave Mondt, he leaned over and asked, “Does your Mom know you’re over here kid?” Of course they all got a big kick out of that one – and still do.
The weekend was filled with stories like these and kept me busy writing in my notebook and running my recorder. These guys, “the guys,” of the greatest generation don’t always open up and let us know all the details of their war-time experience, but I am always thankful when they do, thankful to know them, and thankful to tell their stories.
