KC-130 makes first landing at Camp Dwyer

Photo By Sgt. Scott Whittington | Lance Cpl. Mike N. Lugo, 19, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Marine and Mission Viejo, Calif., native, watches as a KC-130J with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 flies over the camp before it becomes the first aircraft to use the newly-built airstrip. With the new airstrip, Regimental Combat Team 3 will be able to push supplies to its Marines in the field much faster than in the past.  

CAMP DWYER, AFGHANISTAN

08.27.2009

Story by Sgt. Scott Whittington 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP DWYER, Helmand Province, Afghanistan — When the first Marines arrived here last year, there was nothing other than mounds of "moon dust," but now the camp has expanded its capabilities to further support units in Helmand province.

The first KC-130J touched down successfully, Aug. 27, on a newly-built landing strip here as part of a test run. This new capability gives Regimental Combat Team 3 a quicker avenue to resupply Marines on the tip of the spear, fighting insurgents.

"It's an expeditionary capability the Marine Corps practices and uses to rapidly build combat power in an austere location," said Maj. Matt Merrill, RCT-3 air officer and F/A-18 pilot. "It's faster than waiting on the Air Force to build a concrete strip."

It takes convoys anywhere between 10-24 hours or more to bring materials down from Camp Leatherneck, depending on potential inhibiting factors such as the route, weather, vehicle issues and possible IEDs. Now materials can arrive in less than 30 minutes, according to Sgt. Steven R. Rhoades, an optics technician who also personally supervised the transportation of the aluminum matting, or AM-2, from Kandahar Airfield to Leatherneck, which began last February.

Construction commenced on the strip, Aug. 9, when airmen, using heavy equipment, began clearing and flattening the terrain. Logistics Marines with RCT-3 have been coordinating the movement of AM-2 matting — 114,000 pounds or 1.4 million square feet — to KAF and Camp Leatherneck. Marines from Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 took control of the matting once it reached Leatherneck and have been shipping the materials to Camp Dwyer over the last several months.

"There was definitely a lot of it," said Lance Cpl. Arron "The Train" Lawhon, embarkation chief, RCT-3. "The pieces came from all over the world."

One 12-foot bundle tips the scales at 6,000 pounds, and the landing strip is more than 4,300 feet long and 4,000 pieces of matting. MWSS-371 Marines spent the last couple weeks laying down the pieces and interlocking them in place.

"They finished ahead of schedule," said Capt. Alexander Lugo, detachment officer in charge, MWSS-371. "They did an outstanding job — quick, safe and accurate. Everyone is surprised they finished so soon even when our equipment went down."

Lugo said almost all their heavy equipment had maintenance problems, but his Marines were able to get them up and running quickly to complete the project.

"It's good to see progress," said Rhoades, who was one of the first Marines to arrive here. "We showed up at Dwyer, and there was literally nothing. We're still working to make this place a full-fledge base."

• Date Taken: 08.27.2009
• Date Posted: 08.29.2009 03:28
• Story ID: 38105
• Location: CAMP DWYER, AF