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447th ELRS Airmen ensure Soldiers get home as drawdown continues

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sanjay Allen
  • Air Component Coordination Element-Iraq Public Affairs
SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq --  Airmen from the air terminal operations center, or ATOC, and aerial porters helped move more than 100 Soldiers from Charlie Company of the 67th Expeditionary Signal Battalion on to a C-17 Globemaster III for redeployment July 10 as part of the responsible drawdown of forces.

The responsible drawdown of forces, or RDoF, is not new. It has been a continuous process that began in 2008 when U.S. forces were at a high of 165,000 in January of that year. At this stage in the timeline, forces will be drawn down to approximately 50,000 by the end of August, continuing with the withdrawal of all U.S. operational forces from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011.

Moving the large number of Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen into, out of and through Iraq would not be possible without Air Force airlift and the Airmen who support that mission, said Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements.

Some of the Airmen who directly support this mission are the ATOC and aerial porters, assigned to the 447th Air Expeditionary Group, who help ensure everything moves smoothly for each troop and cargo movement through the Iraq area of responsibility.

Staff Sgt. Sarai Goldsberry, 447th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron ATOC, said she and her coworkers make sure everything gets loaded on the aircraft correctly from the passengers to the cargo so personnel and supplies get to where they're needed on time.

"We'll monitor the radio traffic, who's gotten off the plane, who's gotten on the plane, make sure all the baggage is getting on and any cargo that has to go with them," the Dover, Del., native said.

The ATOC and aerial porters move an average of 19,000 to 20,000 passengers per month and 1,000 to 1,200 tons of cargo. Tech. Sgt. Valerie McFadden, 447th ELRS, who is a reservist deployed from Dover Air Force Base, says her team expects these numbers to slowly increase as the drawdown continues.

Sergeant Goldsberry is excited about being a part of the process that gets Soldiers home. Her latest customers, Soldiers of the 67th Expeditionary Signal Battalion provided tactical communications throughout Iraq during their one-year deployment and are redeploying to Fort Gordon, Ga.

"It's pretty exciting because you can see the happiness in their faces and how they carry themselves," said the first-time deployer, who is also a reservist deployed from Dover AFB. "It's awesome to be able to get people home, or to get people where they need to be at the rate we're doing it at."