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Acting U.S. Central Command commander visits Manas

  • Published
  • By Maj. Damien Pickart
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZ REPUBLIC --  Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, acting U.S. Central Command commander, made his first visit to the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and its Airmen Aug. 1, during a routine tour of the CENTCOM area of operations.

The 34-year Army general, who has served as the acting CENTCOM commander since March 2008, was greeted by representatives from the base, U.S. Embassy and Kyrgyz Republic Ministry of Defense. While at the base, General Dempsey and other CENTCOM officials received a tour of Manas from Col. Christopher Bence, 376th AEW commander. They also enjoyed dinner with more than two dozen "Liberando" Airmen.

"This is my first deployment since joining the Air Force and having dinner with the CENTCOM commander just a month after arriving was a pretty awesome experience," said Airman 1st Class Alex Farver, a videographer deployed to Manas for six months from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. "He listened to the questions we had for him and really seemed interested in what we had to say. It was a privilege to have this opportunity."

Following dinner and answering questions from the Airmen, the general enjoyed a tour of the base seeing a variety of mission and morale facilities while meeting U.S. Army Soldiers and other Coalition forces transiting through the base. They also received several briefings on the mission of Manas AB and several community outreach programs that work to foster strong friendships with the Kyrgyz locals.

"We highlighted the base's warrior care mission, which is all about taking care of the Coalition forces transiting through Manas to and from Afghanistan," said Colonel Bence. "The general smiled and explained after the briefing that his daughter, also in the Army, transited through Manas sometime back and had rave reviews of how well she and all the Soldiers were cared for while here. This reaffirms my commitment to maintaining the "Liberandos'" high standard of treatment for those we support."

The base serves as the primary transit point for U.S. and Coalition forces transiting in and out of Afghanistan and is also the premier air mobility hub for military operations in Afghanistan. The wing's fleet of KC-135 Stratotankers provides around-the-clock refueling support for aircraft operating over Afghanistan. It also hosts a French C135FR refueling detachment and a Spanish C-130 unit that provides airlift and aeromedical evacuation support.

While visiting the Kyrgyz Republic, the CENTCOM delegation also met with numerous Kyrgyz officials in Bishkek and visited several cultural sites in and around the capital city.
U.S. Central Command's AOR stretches from Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic in the east to Sudan and Kenya in the west and encompasses all land masses in between, including the Arabian Peninsula. Its mission is to work with national and international partners, promote development and cooperation among nations, respond to crises, and deter or defeat state and transnational aggression in order to establish regional security and stability.