'Short' section has big impact

Airman 1st Class Andrew Jones, 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron air terminal operations controller, offloads luggage from a Short Takeoff and Landing flight on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2013. The STOLS section of the 455th EAPS supports between 60 to 70 flights daily, carrying mail, cargo and passengers to various forward operating bases. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney)

'Short' section has big impact

Published Jan. 30, 2013
By Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron supports approximately 90 flights a day on the Department of Defense's busiest flightline.

Of those 90 flights, 60 to 70 are supported by the Short Takeoff and Landings (STOLS) section of the 455th EAPS.

"We do the full range of duties that the Aerial Port does [but] we do it in a microcosm," said Tech. Sgt. David Stahr, STOLS NCO in charge.

The aircraft the STOLS section works with, such as the DASH-8, are much smaller than a C-5 or C-17, and therefore require shorter takeoff and landing distances. They are contracted by the U.S. Army to move passengers, cargo and mail to forward operating bases that have runway capabilities.

However, the small aircraft size means that the STOLS section works without the benefit of being able to palletize cargo. Stahr said his Airmen will often hand-carry baggage to the plane and personally stow it in the cargo hold.

Stahr added that since August the STOLS Airmen have moved three million pounds of mail and 5.5 million pounds of baggage.

"It's very labor-intensive work that we do," Stahr said. "If two people can lift it, we'll move it."

STOLS flights are also restricted to daylight hours during good weather, therefore the Airmen must work quickly and efficiently to ensure the flights can take off on schedule.

"I'll see the same aircraft three times a day," Stahr said. "We prep the birds and get them ready so when the sun is up we'll have seven DASH-8s ready to take off and start their runs. It's critical to get them off early in the morning [in order to] to be back before daylight ends."

On the other hand, the need to stay flexible is a positive thing for the STOLS Airmen.

"The best part of the routine is there is no routine," said Airman 1st Class Andrew Jones, 455th EAPS Air Terminal Operations controller, who said that this sort of mission isn't done anywhere else.

"We deal with different people and different stuff every day; you never know what you're going to get."