K-2: Air National Guard, active-duty airmen and soldiers work side-by-side to contribute to operation enduring freedom

Airman, Nov, 2004 by Orville F. Desjarlais, Jr.

The C-130 aircrew from Saint Joseph, Mo., was told the night before that its mission tasking, called a frag (fragmentary order), was to fly supplies from Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan--known as K-2--to Fire Base Salerno, Afghanistan.

It was going to be a quick offload for the Missouri Air National Guard crew because Salerno, an Army outpost, is located just across the border from Peshawar, Pakistan--the birthplace of al Qaeda and a former haven for Taliban terrorists.

Some on the crew, like loadmaster Master Sgt. Stanley Johnson, enjoy these types of missions.

"That's why I'm over here. The exciting missions are OK by me," said the 58-year-old, who also likes to ride Harley Davidson motorcycles.

The plan for Salerno was for the aircrew to perform an ERO (engine running offload), meaning they keep the engines operating while pallets are quickly rolled out the back of the aircraft. This minimizes time spent on the ground, and provides the ability to fly out at the first hint of trouble.

"Sometimes we're in the combat zone for hours at a time, putting our crews in harm's way," said Lt. Col. Michael McEnulty, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron commander. "We're moving people and equipment downrange--all of which are extremely important. To do that, we've been working 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

However, Sergeant Johnson is used to putting himself in dangerous situations. He's flown into locations, during operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, so hot with action that all the crew could do was land, unfasten the cargo and let it roll out the back of the plane without ever stopping the C-130. It's called a combat offload,

"Those work out pretty well," Sergeant Johnson said with a smile.

However, Sergeant Johnson didn't get the exciting mission he wanted. It changed overnight. Instead, their tasking was to haul people and cargo from K-2 to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, to Kandahar, Afghanistan, and then back to K-2.

It was a milk run, meaning it was an easy mission. The other loadmaster, Master Sgt. Larry Fuson, couldn't have been happier. Even though the two loadmasters could be mistaken for brothers, he's the antithesis of Sergeant Johnson.

"I got shot at over Baghdad once," said the 56-year-old. "I'm getting too old for those games."

Guard-run outfit

Before the arrival of an active duty unit from Elmendorf, Alaska, the Air National Guard was responsible for all the C-130H flying missions, because K-2 is part of the ANG's Air & Space Expeditionary Force commitment.

"Everyone here is proud to serve," Colonel McEnulty said. "We're not here because we have to be here. We're here because we want to be here. We, too, were affected by 9-11. It's our duty to ensure something like that doesn't happen again."

And, he says, that's not an easy task.

"It's arduous because we fly through some of the worst weather in the world," the colonel said. "It's mountainous with a lot of snowstorms. Pilots have to be at the top of their game when they're flying around here."

Also, air traffic control support is nonexistent, requiring pilots to have more situational awareness.

"At home, we receive radar vectors that'll put us in position for a good approach," said Capt. Matt Bradley, a C-130H co-pilot from Columbia, Mo. "Here, we're expected to navigate the approach ourselves, which has greatly increased my situational awareness."

Bread and butter missions

The bulk of the C-130H missions from K-2 move people and cargo directly to locations involved with Operation Enduring Freedom. The 416th Air Expeditionary Group averages 200 passengers and 100 tons of cargo per day from its remote location.

"In this region, the only way to resupply bases is by air," Sergeant Fuson said. "And with the C-130, we're the workhorse."

To keep that workhorse going, C-130 maintainers keep a 94 percent mission capability rate for the aircraft, exceeding the Air Force C-130 standard rate of 78 percent.

The C-130 can haul anything from Humvees to munitions to food, and Captain Bradley is usually curious enough about his loads to check out his cargo before take off.

"One of the most memorable loads we had was a bunch of pallets of toilet paper," he said.

Lt. Col. Craig Wilds, a C-130H navigator from Saint Joseph, Mo., said he doesn't like to think about the other cargo they haul into harm's way --Soldiers and Airmen.

"You just have to go about doing your job," Colonel Wilds said. "I don't have any kids, but I've got nephews who are older than some of these guys. It's always in the back of your mind."

Where danger lurks

When aircrews do have to land at dangerous locations, they take with them a two-person "fly away" security team.

While people and pallets are being offloaded from the plane, the security team fans out to provide protection. They arm themselves with everything needed to get the job done.

"This is a totally different mission than what I'm used to." said Staff Sgt. Morgan Cabaniss, deployed from Tyndall Air Force Base. Fla. At K-2, he's a "fly away" security team member.