Second wind: some say the Rasputin-like Rhein-Main Air Base may never close - Brief Article

Airman, August, 2002 by Jason Tech. Sgt. Tudor

Every time someone even says the word "closure" around here, someone else giggles. Maybe it's denial. Maybe the date scratched on everyone's desk calendars is erased more than an answer on an enlisted promotion test. Or it could be that this place may simply never close. Maybe.

With cargo planes sitting on the runway, 1,100 people living in contingency dorms and facilities reopening to support Operation Enduring Freedom, Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, is gaining a second wind as it ramps down toward closure.

At this former hub of the Berlin airlift, where nearly 4.7 million pounds of goods left on flights every four minutes, the push to sustain troops for Enduring Freedom is the result of overcrowding.

When war support arched upward, the flight line at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, filled up. Shortly before Thanksgiving 2001, the first aircraft diverted from Ramstein into Rhein-Main. Operations have reached a feverish pace since, and the few hundred remaining people left from the closure team are trying their best to keep up.

"We have lots of facilities -- but not lots of people," said Col. Christine Prewitt, 469th Air Base Group commander. "It's bizarre. We went from nothing to everything."

And it's no secret Prewitt doesn't have the bodies to sustain the work. The Air Force has brought her nearly 150 others from around the world to augment operations. Three hangars burgeon with active, Reserve, Guard and civilians aimed at getting aircraft "down range" to Afghanistan and beyond.

Senior Airman Darryl Nelson, who works on aircraft environmental electrical systems for Rhein-Main's 726th Air Mobility Squadron, expected to finish his assignment with little fanfare. He was wrong.

"We had more than 300 aircraft in February. We've always had things to do and stayed busy," he said, "but not like this."

Strange days indeed

Situated on the southern grounds of Frankfurt International Airport, Rhein-Main's location and weather bring smiles to aviators across the bluesuit spectrum. However, the airport is growing at an exponential pace. The German government wanted Rhein-Main's facilities. The Air Force did an assessment and decided it didn't need Rhein-Main. Simple, right?

Not so much. It's been more than eight years since the base's announced closure. Lowry Air Force Base, Colo., on the other hand, closed a little less than three years following its announcement. While the men and women still stationed here took on a caretaker role, the numbers of missions and involvement of operations actually increased.

Airmen on the Main have seen lots of work lately, including:

* Operations Desert Storm/Shield: 3,300 jets per month, 19,000 tons of cargo and 62,000 passengers per month with 685 airmen working.

* Operation Allied Force: From March 25 to July 6,1999, Rhein-Main generated 1,513 sorties, served 38,121 passengers and handled 6,624 tons of cargo.

* Operation Enduring Freedom: With 110 people in the aerial port, Rhein-Main is moving 600 jets, 7,000 tons of cargo and 20,000 passengers through each month. That's nearly one jet every hour of the day.

Chief Master Sgt. Bobby Gamsby supervises maintenance and operations on the Rhein-Main flight line. He oversees his folks' work as well as the work of the airmen deployed from bases in the States.

The 22-year veteran and former command chief at a Southwest Asian base said the job is No. 1 here and keeps the troops motivated.

"This is what they train for," he said. "The key is teamwork. We have to have everyone in synch. The deployed folks are very happy here, too. The alternative is living in tents."

But not everyone is keen on the frantic gait of operations. Staff Sgt. Christian Stamper provides aircraft services for Rhein-Main's airlift contingent. He cleans the aircraft, removes the waste from the septic tanks and helps load the jets again to go down range.

Stamper released a big sigh and made a slight grin when he thought about all he's done over the past few months.

"I don't think I'll miss this," he said. "It's a challenge. It's a double-edged sword, but I definitely feel like I'm contributing. It's clicked that I'm helping."

Senior Airman Tiffany Sisneros crawls around in fuel tanks, performing upkeep and making repairs for the airlift contingent. Rhein-Main's 2001 airman of the year understands the sacrifice she and others are making.

"It hurts a lot of families, but those are the things we have to sacrifice," she said.

Closed facilities have presented another challenge to Prewitt and her closure team. With sometimes three to four visiting airmen crammed into a contingency dorm room, she and services director William Wilson are racing to find ways to keep the troops entertained.

Formally known as Frankfurt-am-Main, the city is a 652,000-strong bustling zenith of international life that gobbles up about 97 square miles in the German state of Hesse. Some airmen will make the short drive into town to regale at many of the cosmopolitan stops, but many won't.

That's why Prewitt and Wilson spent money to upgrade the Rocket Sports Lounge. With a dance floor, bar, kitchen, video games, pool table and big-screen televisions, the Rocket resembles hundreds of other clubs around the Defense Department and is just a few hundred feet away from the dorms. Before Thanksgiving 2001, few people patronized it. Now it bulges with business, sometimes pulling $1,500 a night.