A year later, 89th Airlift Wing members recall the various roles they played in helping prepare for and assisting with Operation Allies Refuge (OAR).
OAR was the largest Non-combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) airlift in U.S. history. Over 17 days, beginning Aug. 14, 2021, nearly 800 civilian and military aircraft from 30 plus nations safely evacuated more than 123,000 people from Hamid Karzai International Airport, near Kabul, Afghanistan.
Throughout the operation’s various stages, members of Team SAM Fox were behind the scenes helping the herculean effort succeed.
BEFORE OAR
Prior to OAR, Team SAM Fox sent a team of eleven 89th Aerial Port Squadron Airmen to assist in clearing out 20 years of inventory at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, May 19, 2021 to July 1, 2021. This included, but not limited to:
- Redistributing 473 tons of coalition cargo back into the supply chains of the U.S. and allied partners.
- Supporting the Foreign Excess Personal Property transition of 346 vehicles and 3,700 equipment items to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, valued at over $500 million.
- Aiding the retrograde of 79 fixed-wing aircraft, 72 helicopters and 445 pallets of munitions.
- Supporting the transportation effort of 3,000 U.S. military personnel, 1,500 coalition personnel and 5,300 contractors out of the Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan.
“We found out April 21 [2021] we were going to Afghanistan for a retrograde operation with a starting point in Bagram,” said Staff Sgt. James Carr, 89th APS aircraft services supervisor. “We didn't know the extent - that we’d be closing Bagram, until day two of our arrival there.”
Carr's team along with Port Dawgs and support personnel from other bases, worked over a month of consecutive 12-hours shifts to successfully close out Bagram before they departed in July, leading the U.S. to the next step of its withdrawal.
Later that same month, the aircrews of the 89th Operations Group flew senior leaders around the Middle East to communicate plans to withdraw with allies.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Snelson, who previously served as commander of the 89th AW only a couple months prior to these flights, messaged U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew Jones, 89th AW commander, on his observations of SAM Fox personnel in his role as director for U.S. Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center, Southwest Asia.
"In between those CENTCOM meetings he [General MeKenzie] had calls with the [Secretary of Defense] and the [President of the United States]. Behind each of those calls was a young [communication systems operator] keeping the most important military leader in the world at that moment connected with the [National Command Authority]. There were flight attendants taking care of the entire team, including General McKenzie, so he could refuel and mentally be ready for his next no-fail engagement. There were pilots providing a stable platform keeping the principal on time for the next strategic meeting. Ravens protecting the aircraft and what had to be delivered in far-flung locations. Not to mention our [flying crew chiefs] who ensured that the jet stayed [Flight Mission Capable] keeping that leader moving without fail,” Snelson said.
He references U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr., commander U.S. Central Command at that time, who flew around the Middle East to speak with leaders and high-ranking officials back in the U.S. about plans to withdraw.
“When the books are written about this chapter in our history, I have no doubt our blue and white fleet and the Airmen who make that mission happen will not even be a footnote. But for those of us in the know about SAM Fox, we will quietly and proudly nod in our small circles knowing the 89th made a strategic impact today, as they do every time they support our nation's leaders. I know you and the team are always proud of our Airmen, but yesterday they proved perfection is the standard. Yesterday they made a difference," Snelson said at the end of his email.
DURING OAR
In the week following OAR initial airlift operations in August 2021, SAM Fox personnel were requested on several fronts; port dawgs helping process refugees arriving in the U.S. and enhancing medical communication overseas at Ramstein Air Base.
On Aug. 23, 2021, a team of over 20 Port Dawgs received a short-notice tasker to go to Washington Dulles International Airport, Virgina, to help set up operations to process refugees as they arrived in the U.S. from overseas.
Dulles was initially the only reception hub for Afghan refugees first arriving in the U.S. where they were processed and treated before being transported to temporary housing locations at military bases across the U.S.
Two hours later, 89th APS Airmen were on scene at the location, offering their manifesting expertise to the U.S. Department of State personnel to help standardize the welcoming and processing of Afghanistan refugees as OAR shifted to Operation Allies Welcome (OAW).
Within 24 hours, the group was able to make significant progress towards processing and flying out more refugees to temporary housing locations at military bases across the U.S.
“On our first day we were only able to get out a couple of hundred people, but by the second day, it was in the thousands in the amount of passengers we were able to get onto an aircraft to their final destination,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Esther Kim, Officer-in-Charge of aircraft services for the 89th APS and team lead for the group of Port Dawgs sent to Dulles. “During the event, there was a whirlwind of emotions, but then afterwards we took a step back and just appreciated the moment we had, the bonds we created working with one another... it was really special and just knowing that we had an impact in all of that.”
For two weeks, 89th APS Port Dawgs worked with the state department to further improve processing for refugees entering into the U.S. before passing on operations and lessons learned to a team from Travis Air Force Base, California.
Team SAM Fox’s final engagement with OAR was sending a team of eight communications systems operators (CSOs) and communications Airmen to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Aug. 30, 2021, for just over two weeks.
The team was tasked with using their expertise of DV communications capabilities/satellite internet to help aeromedical squadron personnel on the ground at Ramstein communicate real-time with medical personnel on C-17 aircraft dealing with inflight medical issues and emergencies during evacuation efforts.
Tech. Sgt. Mehmet Yasdiman, 1st Airlift Squadron CSO instructor, noted that usually communications with a flying C-17 aircraft are limited to line-of-site radios, but his team’s satellite internet capabilities allow communications beyond that to essentially anywhere on the globe.
With satellite capabilities in place, medical personnel on the ground were able to monitor patients on the aircraft status real time and provide timely feedback to their caretakers on the aircraft.
“We had one case where a [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit] was needed, so they needed to medically evacuate them out of Kabul and bring them to Ramstein. For nurses that never dealt with NICU patients before they were able to be in communication with a doctor at all times during the flight,” Yasdiman said. “Normally, those guys at the unit or hospital have no idea how the patient's status has changed in flight. It felt very fulfilling, and I hope I’ll get the chance to do it again.”
More information about 89th AW Airmen’s role in OAR can be found at following links:
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/855278/oar-oaw-interview-sam-fox-port-dawgs-dulles-airport
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/854875/interview-sam-fox-csos-comm-airmen-supporting-oar
| Date Taken: | 08.31.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.31.2022 21:05 |
| Story ID: | 428458 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 270 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Team SAM Fox looks back on supporting Operation Allies Refuge, by TSgt Kentavist Brackin, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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