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Bagram hosts first expeditionary aerial port squadron in theater

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan --  Officials at Bagram Air Field activated the first expeditionary aerial port squadron in the region during a squadron activation and assumption of command ceremony Jan. 29.

Lt. Col. Frank Flores received the new 455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron guidon from Col. Patricia Searcy, 455th Expeditionary Mission Support Group commander, in front of senior leaders and Airmen from the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing.

"This is a unified team of civilians, active duty, guard, and reserve personnel," said Colonel Flores shortly after taking command of the new squadron. "They are unified in mission and purpose. [We are] one team, one port."

The expansion of the aerial port flight to a squadron comes on the cusp of a new strategy outlined by President Barack H. Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates to dramatically increase American military forces in Afghanistan within 18 months.

The squadron of approximately 100 active duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Defense Department civilians and contractors handles everything from aircraft load planning and cargo palletizing to air terminal operations and passenger service.

"Our squadron separated from the logistic readiness squadron so that we could focus entirely on aerial port operations, increase our throughput capacity and maximize the efficiency of our processes and capabilities here," explained Colonel Flores who is deployed from Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

The lieutenant colonel said the new 455th EAPS includes several one-year leadership positions that will go into effect this summer with the goal of improving continuity and experience shared within the squadron. 

Chief Master Sgt. John Heasley, deployed from McChord Air Force Base, Wash., is filling one of the new leadership positions that will become a one year billet this summer, as the 455th EAPS Air Terminal Manager. 

Colonel Flores said the chief was hand picked for the job based on his experience coordinating airlift operations for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"He has about five years of deployed experience supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and is credited with setting aerial port operations at seven bases in the area of responsibility," Colonel Flores explained.

Chief Heasley, a 27-year Air Force veteran, said his goal is to standardize the use of airframes to move personnel and equipment throughout the theater.

"[In December] we moved 4,000 more passengers and 5,000 tons more cargo using 300 less aircraft," explained Chief Heasley. "The faster we can get troops processed through the system, the faster we can get troops down range ― like turn-style airlift."

Maj. James Dickey, 455th EAPS operations officer deployed from Carswell Field, Texas, added that the squadron, which acts as a central hub for operations within Afghanistan, has moved more than 25,000 passengers and 12,000 tons of cargo in January - more than a 50 percent workload increase than last year.

"We're moving as much, if not more, passengers and cargo as major ports like [Joint Base] Balad, Iraq," he said.