An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Soldiers and Airmen recover, dismantle damaged aircraft

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson and Private 1st Class. Amy M. Lane
  • 4th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq --  In a joint effort, U.S. Soldiers and Airmen worked together to recover and dismantle an out-of-commission aircraft here July 15.

The aircraft, a U.S. Air Force C-21 transportation jet, suffered irreparable damage after making a hard landing in 2009. No one was injured in this incident.

After receiving a request from the 407th Air Expeditionary Group to assist with removal and demilitarization of the aircraft from the airfield, soldiers from the 749th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, formed a downed aircraft recovery team and treated the task as a training mission.

"After we received the request from the Air Force, we decided to use it as training," said Maj. Michael McBride, deputy operations officer for the 4th Sust. Bde., and Dequincy, La., native. "It's a standard recovery, but we're treating it as an actual mission."

The recovery process began when firefighters from the 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron cut up major portions of the aircraft frame, removing the wings and tail sections. Next, soldiers from the 749th CSSB recovered the aircraft, placed the large pieces onto flatbed trucks, and transported them off the airfield July 5. The pieces were taken to another site on Contingency Operating Base Adder where it was further dismantled July 15, and finally set ablaze under the watchful eyes of Air Force firefighters.

All of these actions, carried out jointly by Soldiers and Airmen, provided not only a great training opportunity, but fulfilled the overall goal of preventing a disabled aircraft from potentially being used against U.S. Forces or their allies in the future.

"This was a great joint training opportunity for everyone involved," said Air Force Capt. Jeffery Davis, chief safety officer for 407th AEG, and Colorado Springs, Colo., native. "It was a great opportunity for the Soldiers and Airmen to practice and gain familiarity with conducting recovery operations with an actual aircraft. It helps so that they'll be prepared should they be called upon to recover an aircraft outside the wire."

Although the Soldiers are already deployed in support of Operation New Dawn, the training for future scenarios never stops.

"It's always important to continue to refine, train and get better at our professional skills," said Army Capt. Jerry Cole, transportation officer with 749th CSSB, and Los Angeles, Calif., native. "The Soldiers need to know what they're doing, and be comfortable doing so in case they need to react in a hostile environment."

He said the opportunity to train on the aircraft and work alongside the Air Force during this mission was a beneficial opportunity that he'll remember for some time.

"It was great to get some valuable training and allow the aircraft to provide one more training opportunity before we put it in its final resting place," said Cole.