Photo By Senior Airman Ruth Holcomb | Col. Christopher Bence, 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Commander, welcomes a member of...... read more read more
By Senior Master Sgt. Patrick J. McCracken
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan – A delegation of Kyrgyzstan's parliament, led by Vice Speaker Kubanychbek Isabekov, visited Manas Air Base, Dec. 15.
Following weeks of planning and extensive preparation, 17 members of the Kyrgyz parliament visited Manas Air Base. The delegation of this high-level visit was warmly greeted by Col. Christopher Bence, 376th Expeditionary Wing commander, and his senior staff as they arrived for a mission briefing and question and answer session. Lee Litzenberger, deputy chief of Mission from the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, was also on hand to welcome the dignitaries and attend the tour.
During the briefing, Bence highlighted the many community outreach programs sponsored by the Manas Service Organization and the Manas Air Base Outreach Society, where service members contribute their own time and money to help people in local schools, villages and orphanages with renovation projects and items such as warm clothing and school supplies.
The parliamentarians asked very direct questions and were given candid answers by Bence which they all seemed to appreciate. One member asked about construction projects on base and about how much money goes into the local economy, to which Bence responded that Manas Air Base spent more than $13 million in fiscal year 2008 on local commodities, contracts and services.
"The U.S. government has also committed over $30 million to improve the parking ramp for Manas International Airport, which will be constructed in the most environmentally friendly manner possible and will be a tremendous legacy to the Kyrgyz people once we leave," said Bence. "We are ready to begin construction as soon as we receive final approval from the Kyrgyz government."
"My primary objective is to award as many construction projects as possible to local Kyrgyz workers," said the Manas Air Base commander. "We just recently held a vendor day in Bishkek to help local businesses better understand how to work with the base."
Once the question and answer session was finished, the delegation took a walking tour of the base facilities which included the recently opened medical hospital, the coalition passenger terminal, fitness center and the "Liberando's Lair" recreation center, where they had an opportunity to speak with local Kyrgyz employees and ask them firsthand how they feel about working on base.
The group then stopped for lunch at the dining facility, where they had the opportunity to eat the same food as the coalition service members and Kyrgyz employees of the base. They also asked quality of life questions. Isabekov, a former service member himself, asked many questions regarding equality for women and pay levels for enlisted members along with promotion opportunities.
The final visit of the day was out to the flight-line to see the mission and the aircraft up close. They toured the KC-135 Stratotanker and the C-17 Globemaster III, where they were given a demonstration of cargo and vehicle loading.
The visit ended with giving one another gifts and exchanging toasts encouraging continued cooperation and transparency between the two nations.
"I thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend this event," said Bence, "it is my honor to be a piece of the partnership between Kyrgyzstan and the United States here at Manas, and I look forward to our continued cooperation."
| Date Taken: | 12.18.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.18.2008 05:19 |
| Story ID: | 27832 |
| Location: |
| Web Views: | 245 |
| Downloads: | 219 |
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