A team effort makes a project easier and allows it to be completed in a timely manner. It’s no different for this group who worked together to bring their operating location’s aerial port of debarkation an upgrade it needed.

The 387th Air Expeditionary Group received a new access road to get onto their APOD, thanks to a team of individuals who worked around the clock to complete the project in just 28 days.

“We didn’t track the exact hours worked, but I estimate that we put in 3400 man hours,” said Capt. Joshua Koenig, 387th Expeditionary Support Squadron civil engineering flight officer in-charge.

This project was possible with the help of several sections in the 387 AEG, including security forces, force protection, and civil engineering.

 “CE was responsible for the overall timing and execution, but security forces was heavily involved from day one with planning to meet the entry control point and vehicle search area requirements,” said Koenig. “Force protection also stepped up to escort contractors which did the bulk of the construction work. I know this was an especially heavy burden on them as they also had to complete the daily missions they are staffed for without impacting the overall mission.”

A major piece of the puzzle was the relocation of the main ECP and VSA while allowing the APOD’s mission to continue without interruptions.

To ensure the APOD had a functional and efficient ECP, Capt. Joshua McMath, 387th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron operations officer, and his team coordinated with CE personnel to make it happen. Several concrete barriers were moved to the new location and multiple vehicles were required to complete this portion and set up shop at the new ECP.

“The end result was an ECP and VSA that gives security forces the ability to control entry to the installation safely so that it had zero impact on the mission of the APOD,” said McMath.

One of the other integral sections to completing the APOD’s new road was the 387 ESPTS force protection flight led by, MSgt. Jason Hutcherson.

“It took our team 540 additional man hours escorting contractors to maintain the security of the Air Force Central Command’s busiest APOD,” said Hutcherson. “We worked with little to no time off so we could support the demands required to keep the installation safe.”

After everything was in place and complete, including the lines being painted on the road, the 387 AEG was able to start using their new access road.

Many squadrons worked behind the scenes or provided support to get the job done and Koenig says he is very grateful for their assistance.