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MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Romania ― The swoosh of the hydraulics on the K-loaders and the directives being shouted by the movement specialists were the only sounds heard here as containers were loaded onto a Boeing 747 cargo plane headed for Afghanistan recently.
Soldiers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command worked at a feverish pace to ensure needed equipment is prepositioned in Afghanistan before the 172nd Infantry Brigade, based out of Grafenwöhr and Schweinfurt, Germany, deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The transload operation is the first time a deploying unit has used the MK Airfield as a supply route for its equipment to Afghanistan.
The combined operation required the use of several transportation support systems such as rail, aircraft and wheel vehicles. 21st TSC personnel ensured more than 300 containers weighing more than 1,000 tons originating out of Grafenwöhr, Germany, were inspected, secured and transported onto railcars in Romania for movement downrange.
Capt. Brant Leyden, the 16th Sustainment Brigade officer in charge of the MK Airfield operation realizes the success of this mission is critical to the deploying unit’s Soldiers who are in need of their essential equipment.
“This is a priority mission for us,” Leyden said. “This is not a training mission, but a real world mission. We are supporting the warfighter in Operation Enduring Freedom.”
Soldiers worked closely with Airmen from the 615th Contingency Response Wing based out of Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The equipment containers were offloaded and placed onto pallets, then trucked to the MK Airfield where they were jointly inspected and further secured.
The last phase of the operation required the careful uploading of the containers onto Boeing 747 cargo planes bound for Afghanistan.
Lt. Col. John Platte, the deployed commander of the 615th Contingency Response Element, was pleased with all the cooperative efforts of facilitating this large-scale transload operation.
“It has been an exciting experience working with all the Army units involved,” Platte said. “The 21st TSC, the 16th SB and all the other support teams have been awesome.”
A part of what makes the airfield so significant is its location near the Black Sea’s port of Constanta, an important logistical link that allows access to other transportation routes. The airfield is considered a potential logistical transport hub for other operations in the future.
Various units assigned to the 21st TSC involved in the operation include the 99th Movement Control Team from Livorno, Italy; the 1st Inland Cargo Transfer Company from Grafenwöhr, Germany; the 16th Sustainment Brigade from Bamberg, Germany; the 18th Military Police Bde. from Mannheim, Germany; and the 21st TSC Headquarters and Headquarters Co. from Kaiserslautern.
The sweltering heat did not deter the efforts of the Soldiers of the 21st TSC as they ensured every last container was set for its final trek to Afghanistan.
“I love this job. I want to make sure that everything happens and the Soldiers get their stuff,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Cheryl Moore, the 21st TSC’s transportation operations mobility warrant officer for the mission. “The goal is that we will hopefully be able to use Romania as a through put. I think it will be an
excellent opportunity for Romania and for us.”
