Photo By Staff Sgt. David Nunn | Soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment upload a Stryker vehicle into a C-17...... read more read more
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SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Third Army's support to the Buildup of Afghanistan, and the subsequent pulling of equipment and materiel out of Iraq, is an enormous logistical operation that is the largest known in modern military history. This operation runs 24/7 and incorporates a network spanning Third Army's 22-country area of responsibility supported by a coalition of multiple countries, civilian contractors, and servicemembers of all the U.S. Armed Forces.
This cooperation is evident at every step of the way, from the closing of Forward Operating Bases across Iraq since the beginning of the Responsible Drawdown in 2009, to land, air, and sea distribution networks into Afghanistan.
At an airbase in Southwest Asia, just one step in this highly organized and adaptive operation, the flight-line is alive with activity in the pre-dawn hours of June 1st, 2010. Massive C-17 Globemasters, arrayed across wind-blasted asphalt still hot to the touch from the day before, are readied by their crews for flights into Afghanistan. As the awakening roar of their engines dominates the air, a line of Stryker vehicles emerges from the staging lots nearby; their headlights pushing back the desert night.
"These [Stryker] vehicles are built for the infantry and we are loading them here to get them to our brothers in Afghanistan," said Pfc. Ralph Rambicure, a tanker with the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment of Vilseck, Germany. "This mission is all about getting the necessary equipment to the fight, and in doing so; we are remembering our fallen comrades."
As the vehicles approach the awaiting C-17, its rear ramp lowers, revealing a brightly lit cargo hold that bathes the dark flight line and awaiting equipment in sharp contrast to the dark surroundings. Flashing hazard lights from the vehicles add a sense of urgency to the large team of personnel as they begin backing-up one Stryker into the cargo hold.
"There is a real importance to our mission to support the war-fighter," said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Fidel, a construction man of Buffalo, N.Y., of the 2-1 Naval Mobile Construction Brigade, a reserve unit from Fort Dix. N.J. "We have [servicemembers] in Afghanistan that need this equipment to perform their missions."
After the last Stryker is loaded into the awaiting aircraft, the red and amber hazard lights begin to recede as the ground crews move their vehicles back to their staging points off the flight-line. With a soft moan the C-17 raises its ramp and the surrounding desert is once again plunged in darkness save the soft pulses that light the edges of the runway.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2010 02:26 |
| Story ID: | 50897 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 363 |
| Downloads: | 239 |
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