Airmen, Soldiers support Baghdad airlift mission
BAGHDAD, Iraq (USTCNS) --- Airmen and Soldiers are combining forces to get passengers and cargo through Baghdad International Airport.
Airmen from the 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial port flight, and Soldiers from the 368th Cargo Transfer Company, 4th Platoon and 386th Movement Control Team work as one team to expedite the flow of people and cargo through the airport, said 1st Lt. David Auretto, the aerial port flight's commander.
"We push an average of 20,000 passengers and 2,000 short tons a month," the commander said.
Although the Air Force has the majority of planes that actually move the airlift, they couldn't do the job without the help of their Army counterparts, Lieutenant Auretto said.
"Considering the number of people we have in the [aerial port] flight, we couldn't accomplish this mission without the Army's help," he said.
With all that cargo flowing through the airport, someone has to make sure the process gets off to a good start -- a task that falls to the 368th CTC's 4th Platoon.
"We make sure the cargo is palletized right," said Spc. Anthony China, a 368th CTC cargo specialist. After supervising and assisting Soldiers who load up their own cargo, the transfer company checks to see if the pallet fits aircraft load requirements.
When the 368th CTC Soldiers are done, they call on Airmen from the aerial port flight cargo processing section to conduct a joint inspection and accept pallets for flight.
It's important that there is a system of checks and balances because if a pallet is configured improperly it could be rejected by the aircraft loadmaster and not go out on time or even damage an aircraft, said Staff Sgt. Randy Lee, a 447th ELRS cargo processor.
"Each aircraft requires pallets be built a special way," said the sergeant.
The Soldiers have done an excellent job, and the few times there have been discrepancies the problem is fixed quickly, Sergeant Lee added.
The Army and Air Force units conduct an average of 400 joint inspections a month and the 368th CTC performs about 300 10K forklift runs per month, said 2nd Lt. Melissa Hege, the transfer company's detachment commander.
There are other times the Airmen and Soldiers get together besides the joint inspections, Specialist China said. "Sometimes we have large, bulky cargo that we don't know what to do with," he said. "In those cases we have to put our heads together and figure out what to do with it."
No matter what size the cargo, the team does everything they can to get cargo out quickly, Specialist China said. "Our main goal is to get the gear out of here fast and efficient," he said. "Everything is a high priority for us."
The 386th MCT processes in and outbound cargo and tracks and traces cargo for all the services, government agencies and coalition partners, said 1st Lt. Erin Humelsine, the team's operations officer.
The 386th MCT processed and tracked more than 1,000 pallets and vehicles since March and the last week of May, Lieutenant Humelsine added.
Operations at the airport require the services to work as a seamless team to make the airport's challenges transparent to their customers, said Sgt. Shane Livingstone, the 386th MCT day shift NCOIC.
"Sure, our services sometimes do things differently," Sergeant Livingstone said. "But we adapt well to get the job done," he continued.
The 386th MCT also processes the Army's share of passenger traffic, Sergeant Livingstone said. Soldier's continually transit the airport for deployment, redeployment and emergency leaves, all of which the unit arranges travel plans for, he said.
A big part of the Army passenger load through the airport is dedicated to two morale programs, the U.S. Central Command Rest and Relaxation Program and the Fighter Management Pass Program, said Senior Airman Michael Pietrantonio, a 447th ELRS passenger services journeyman.
"For these Soldiers, every minute they are away from their unit counts, so we try and get them signed up and on their way as fast as we can," Airman Pietrantonio said.
The 21st Replacement Company, an Army unit at the airport, also works with the 386th MCT and 447th ELRS to process Soldiers for the morale programs.
The every day working relationship with the Army team members really pays off when things go wrong, Airman Pietrantonio said.
"Not long ago we had some Soldiers coming through here who were injured in a convoy attack," he said. "Some of them needed to get back to their unit, some needed to get to medical care in Germany. We all scrambled and made it happen."
Although there is always work to be done, Airmen and Soldiers still manage to enjoy their time at Baghdad, Airman Pietrantonio said. "We conduct a lot of business, sure, but we also manage to have fun," he said.
"It's been great working with the Army and I have made some friends," he added.
Airmen from the 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial port flight, and Soldiers from the 368th Cargo Transfer Company, 4th Platoon and 386th Movement Control Team work as one team to expedite the flow of people and cargo through the airport, said 1st Lt. David Auretto, the aerial port flight's commander.
"We push an average of 20,000 passengers and 2,000 short tons a month," the commander said.
Although the Air Force has the majority of planes that actually move the airlift, they couldn't do the job without the help of their Army counterparts, Lieutenant Auretto said.
"Considering the number of people we have in the [aerial port] flight, we couldn't accomplish this mission without the Army's help," he said.
With all that cargo flowing through the airport, someone has to make sure the process gets off to a good start -- a task that falls to the 368th CTC's 4th Platoon.
"We make sure the cargo is palletized right," said Spc. Anthony China, a 368th CTC cargo specialist. After supervising and assisting Soldiers who load up their own cargo, the transfer company checks to see if the pallet fits aircraft load requirements.
When the 368th CTC Soldiers are done, they call on Airmen from the aerial port flight cargo processing section to conduct a joint inspection and accept pallets for flight.
It's important that there is a system of checks and balances because if a pallet is configured improperly it could be rejected by the aircraft loadmaster and not go out on time or even damage an aircraft, said Staff Sgt. Randy Lee, a 447th ELRS cargo processor.
"Each aircraft requires pallets be built a special way," said the sergeant.
The Soldiers have done an excellent job, and the few times there have been discrepancies the problem is fixed quickly, Sergeant Lee added.
The Army and Air Force units conduct an average of 400 joint inspections a month and the 368th CTC performs about 300 10K forklift runs per month, said 2nd Lt. Melissa Hege, the transfer company's detachment commander.
There are other times the Airmen and Soldiers get together besides the joint inspections, Specialist China said. "Sometimes we have large, bulky cargo that we don't know what to do with," he said. "In those cases we have to put our heads together and figure out what to do with it."
No matter what size the cargo, the team does everything they can to get cargo out quickly, Specialist China said. "Our main goal is to get the gear out of here fast and efficient," he said. "Everything is a high priority for us."
The 386th MCT processes in and outbound cargo and tracks and traces cargo for all the services, government agencies and coalition partners, said 1st Lt. Erin Humelsine, the team's operations officer.
The 386th MCT processed and tracked more than 1,000 pallets and vehicles since March and the last week of May, Lieutenant Humelsine added.
Operations at the airport require the services to work as a seamless team to make the airport's challenges transparent to their customers, said Sgt. Shane Livingstone, the 386th MCT day shift NCOIC.
"Sure, our services sometimes do things differently," Sergeant Livingstone said. "But we adapt well to get the job done," he continued.
The 386th MCT also processes the Army's share of passenger traffic, Sergeant Livingstone said. Soldier's continually transit the airport for deployment, redeployment and emergency leaves, all of which the unit arranges travel plans for, he said.
A big part of the Army passenger load through the airport is dedicated to two morale programs, the U.S. Central Command Rest and Relaxation Program and the Fighter Management Pass Program, said Senior Airman Michael Pietrantonio, a 447th ELRS passenger services journeyman.
"For these Soldiers, every minute they are away from their unit counts, so we try and get them signed up and on their way as fast as we can," Airman Pietrantonio said.
The 21st Replacement Company, an Army unit at the airport, also works with the 386th MCT and 447th ELRS to process Soldiers for the morale programs.
The every day working relationship with the Army team members really pays off when things go wrong, Airman Pietrantonio said.
"Not long ago we had some Soldiers coming through here who were injured in a convoy attack," he said. "Some of them needed to get back to their unit, some needed to get to medical care in Germany. We all scrambled and made it happen."
Although there is always work to be done, Airmen and Soldiers still manage to enjoy their time at Baghdad, Airman Pietrantonio said. "We conduct a lot of business, sure, but we also manage to have fun," he said.
"It's been great working with the Army and I have made some friends," he added.
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