Manas mission marches on

Senior Airman Taurence Campbell directs Airman 1st Class Brian Moeller to safely align the 10K forklift in order to offload a pallet of tri-wall boxes at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 4. The boxes will be used for shipping military equipment to and from Afghanistan. Manas serves as a premier mobility hub for operations in Afghanistan, providing daily refueling missions and supporting personnel and cargo transiting in and out of Afghanistan. The Airmen are with the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron here. Airman Campbell is deployed from the 62nd LRS at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., and Airman Moeller is deployed from the 435th LRS at Ramstein AB, Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson)

Manas mission marches on

Airmen 1st Class Shaun Brown (left) and Jake Moennich palletize duffle bags, backpacks and other deployment gear, at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, Feb. 4, to be airlifted to Afghanistan for U.S. forces members being deployed to that region. Manas serves as a premier mobility hub for operations in Afghanistan, providing daily refueling missions and supporting personnel and cargo transiting in and out of Afghanistan. Airman Brown and Moennich are both with the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron and are deployed from the 62nd Aerial Port Squadron at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson)

Manas Air Base continues to support operations in Afghanistan

Published Feb. 9, 2009
By Maj. Damien Pickart
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan -- Coalition personnel continue to perform their daily air mobility and aerial refueling missions at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, despite press reports that an announcement is pending from Kyrgyz leadership about the future of the base.

"Until we are told that our mission has changed, we will continue to support coalition operations in Afghanistan as the premier air mobility and aerial refueling hub," said Col. Christopher Bence, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing commander.

Manas Air Base currently serves as the premier air mobility hub for the International Security Assistance Force and coalition military forces operating in Afghanistan. The around-the-clock missions include aerial refueling, airlift and airdrop, aeromedical evacuation and support for coalition personnel and cargo transiting in and out of Afghanistan.

In 2008, the wing's fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers flew 3,294 refueling missions passing 194,453,400 lbs of gas to 11,419 aircraft over the skies of Afghanistan. Manas AB personnel also supported more than 170,000 coalition personnel transiting in and out of Afghanistan and processed 5,000 short tons of cargo, to include spare parts and equipment, uniform items and various items to support personnel and mission needs.

The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing began operations at the Manas International Airport in December 2001, in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Initially referred to as Ganci Air Base, in honor of Peter Ganci Jr., the New York City Fire Department chief who died in the World Trade Center attack, Manas AB has hosted coalition personnel and aircraft from ten countries including Australia, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain and the United States.

Currently, 1,000 personnel from Spain, France and the United States are assigned to the base, along with 650 U.S. and host-nation contractor personnel that provide daily support to various missions. Aircraft assigned include U.S. KC-135s, French C135FRs and Spanish C-130s.