Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --Servicemembers board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III here Dec. 28, 2012. The re-deployers are processed for their flight through the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron which has the highest number of passengers in the Department of Defense. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Chris Willis)

Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Senior Airman Darren Arsenault, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron passenger services agent, walks servicemembers out from the terminal to the flightline here, Dec. 28, 2012. The 455th EAPS moves the highest number of passengers in the Department of Defense, with 1,200 passing through its doors on an average day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Chris Willis)

Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

Staff Sgt. Genie Spencer, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron passenger services agent, goes over a passenger’s space-available flight plan at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 29, 2012. The terms space-available and space-required are used interchangeably in Afghanistan, as all passengers without a unit line number assigning them to a specific aircraft can only check in to travel to a specific destination. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Chris Willis)

Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

Staff Sgt. Douglas Smith, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron passenger services agent, announces flight time changes to servicemembers in the passenger terminal at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 29, 2012. The 455th EAPS moves the highest number of passengers in the Department of Defense, with 1,200 passing through its doors on an average day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Chris Willis)

Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --Servicemembers wait at the 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron passenger terminal for an outgoing flight here, Dec. 28, 2012. The 455th EAPS moves the highest number of passengers in the Department of Defense, with 1,200 passing through its doors on an average day. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Chris Willis)

Just passing through: Bagram terminal busiest in DoD

Published Dec. 28, 2012
By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- It could be a father going home on emergency leave. It could be a general arriving for an official visit. It could even be a whole Army division on its way to relieve their comrades in the field.

Whoever they are and where ever they need to go, the 455 Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron stands ready to send them on their way.

"Our daily mix of passengers is people coming TDY in and out, the R&R passengers and our space-[required] passengers that are trying to get to their onward locations," said Capt. Heather Higley, officer-in-charge of the 455th EAPS passenger terminal.

The 455th EAPS moves the highest number of passengers in the Department of Defense, with 1,200 passing through its doors on an average day. On September 8, the terminal set a record when they processed 2,200 passengers in a single day.

Part of that high number came from troops rotating in and out of theater, said Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Giordano, passenger terminal superintendent.

"With the 81st Airborne [Division] that was here before, we were talking about in a two-month period about 20 to 25 flights of cargo and passengers," Giordano said.

When passengers arrive, the EAPS is responsible for getting them and their baggage off the aircraft and to the terminal, where they are either released to their units or prioritized for onward travel. Capt. Higley noted that, unlike at home station, here the terms space-available and space-required are used interchangeably, as all passengers without a unit line number assigning them to a specific aircraft can only check in to travel to a specific destination.

They then have to wait for the next available flight according to their reason for travel, with those going on emergency leave receiving top priority.

"If you know that you want to travel in eight days or ten days, you sign up eight to ten days prior so you get that priority," Higley said.

Airman 1st Class Natalia Barahona, 455th EAPS passenger service agent, said the majority of passengers travel through Bagram as space-available, adding that the number of people assigned here for a year or more means a high number of people wanting to travel for R&R.

"We do have a backlog for every destination that anybody has ever signed up for," she said.

As flights come in and out of Bagram at all hours of the day, there are always passengers to be found in the terminal, watching TV, surfing the internet or just catching a nap on their carry-on bags. Barahona said passenger comfort is important, especially during busy periods when the terminal is full of people waiting to find out if they've made a particular flight, or sitting in the sanitized waiting area after passing through customs. Even something as simple as a cup of coffee can make the wait seem not so tedious, Barahona added.

"We are, as the military, one giant family," she said. "Anybody who we can get out on top of what's required is a plus because that's one more person that is getting to where they need to go, to take care of whatever they need to take care of in order to make the mission happen."