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Airmen winning frigid fight for air mobility

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Stefan Alford
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZSTAN --  Despite bitter temperatures that can cause frostbite in minutes and freeze vehicles where they park, air mobility warplanes continue to climb slowly out of the mist and sub-freezing haze that cloaks Kyrgyzstan on their way to vital missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Manas Air Base is the primary mobility hub for OEF, providing around-the-clock aerial refueling, combat airlift and airdrop, and aeromedical evacuation throughout Afghanistan. If the Airmen here let the brutal weather slow them down, than forward-deployed ground units might not receive crucial food and supplies, wounded patriots might be delayed en route to medical care and combat aircraft might not have the necessary fuel to bomb insurgent hideouts. 

It is the combined efforts of maintenance crews and logistics readiness Airmen who brave the austere elements that keep the aircraft flying. 

"It can get really miserable, and the cold slows you down," said Airman 1st Class Raymond Kittle, a KC-135 Stratotanker crew chief with 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. "It takes a lot more time to do things in negative temperatures." 

Negative temperatures can immobilize an aircraft, if ice and snow buildup is not properly removed. The Airmen of the 376th EMXS use de-icers, which can extend to nearly 80 feet, to keep the fleet thawed. 

"Using two de-icers at the same time, we can get an aircraft ready pretty quick," said Tech. Sgt. Judson Bunkley, a flying crew chief with the 376th EMXS, However, some of the snow clearing and ice removal is still done the old-fashioned way. 

"We go around with shovels and brooms in front of the landing gear, and when there's a lot of snow, we brush it off the wings," said Senior Airman Andrew Mitchell, another 376th EMXS flying crew chief. "The most difficult part is using a rope to break ice off the back of the fuselage - it tires you out real quick." 

But the sub-freezing temperatures also wreak havoc on the de-icers themselves. 

Occasionally, the equipment designed to keep other hardware operational in the severe cold has suffered malfunctions of its own - which is where the vehicle maintenance technicians from the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron lend their skills to the war effort. 

"We overstressed our assets, and when some of our critical de-icing vehicles broke, our sister ELRS special-vehicle-maintenance folks took the lead and worked long and hard hours to return those assets to the flightline and back into the weather fight," said Lt. Col. Thomas Eisenhauer, 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group commander. 

Initially, the vehicle mechanics were inexperienced with the de-icers used here, but knowing the importance of keeping those aircraft operational, they buckled down and studied hard, said Tech. Sgt. Lesley Wilcox, 376th ELRS. 

"We all had to get in the books and learn the computer systems on our own in order to overcome the maintenance problems," he said. "We learned a great deal in an extremely short amount of time." 

The vehicle maintenance crews' efforts helped keep the de-icers operational and the flying mission unaffected. 

"I can't say enough about my team of technicians," said Sergeant Wilcox. "Without the dedication they showed, we could not have met the challenges to keep the sortie-generating and sortie-sustaining vehicles up and running." 

Keeping the de-icers up and running and the aircraft ready has presented a challenge as it has been the coldest winter at Manas since the weather flight began keeping statistics here in 2003. Temperatures have approached -30 degrees and will continue to do so throughout January, aid Staff Sgt. Michael Funk, 376th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron weather forecaster. " Airmen can continue to keep aircraft ready despite sub-zero conditions by adhering to the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing's motto of "Mission First, Safety Always," 

"The safety of our aircrews depends on our ability to safely and effectively remove accumulated ice and snow, any time, day or night, when called upon," added Colonel Eisenhauer. "Ice, fog, freezing drizzle, snow, brutally-cold temperatures and no hangars combine to make the generation of KC-135 and C-17 sorties challenging during extreme weather operations here at Manas." 

So far, the Airmen of the 376th AEW are winning the war on weather while they fight the war on terror - so far, no scheduled flight missions have been lost from ice or snow buildup. 

"The cold is miserable," reiterated Airman Kittle, "but when you see that jet take off because of everybody's efforts, you're really happy and know you've made a difference."