It’s been an eventful couple of days at Bagram Airfield. Tuesday afternoon, COL Jesse Simmons invited me along for an aerial supply drop from one of the 165th Airlift Wing’s C-130s. We carried several huge pallets of supplies—including breakfast pastries, cereal, and sports drinks—to a remote combat outpost in the volatile Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan. As loadmasters SMSGT Tim Gaines and TSGT Chris Odom opened the gaping back ramp of the aircraft, the massive bundles slid out in quick succession, a static line opening a parachute atop each one in turn to help slow its descent. All twelve bundles landed safely within the target area, the impact partially absorbed by thick cardboard “honeycomb” attached to the bottom of each one. As we winged our way back home to Bagram, COL Simmons glanced out at the imposing, barren peaks below and remarked, “I see a lot of rugged, harsh terrain. I’m glad to be flying. I feel safer in the plane than I do anywhere else.”
This morning, I found another Savannah connection here at Bagram. I met up with 1LT Drew Hill of the Alabama National Guard’s 166th Engineering Co. These Bama Boys make frequent use of the HMEE (High Mobility Engineer Excavator), a 60-mph armored backhoe manufactured for the US and British military exclusively by JCB, Inc. in Pooler. The Russian forces that built Bagram decades ago left behind numerous active minefields here—some marked, others unknown. Said Hill, “Being up in the up-armored cab gives you that extra sense of protection that you wouldn’t otherwise have.” But the HMEE’s real value for Hill and his soldiers lies beneath its armored hood. “All the rest of the diggers in the Army’s inventory have been underpowered,” Hill explained. “The JCB HMEE seems to have a lot more power than what we’re used to, so we’re able to work a lot more quickly and get the job done in half the time we normally would.” And to the Chatham County employees of JCB, Hill said, “I’d just like to say thanks for making such a wonderful piece of equipment. It’s not every day you get something of this caliber. So keep up the good job!”
I wrapped up the day with a visit to the Harlang UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Squadron—yet another example of French-American cooperation in the war effort here in Afghanistan. Much like the well-known American Predator drone, the French Harlang gives American and other Coalition troops here a set of “eyes in the sky” to help them stay ahead of the enemy. Said the Harlang Squadron Commander, LT Col Richard Canet of the French Air Force, “With the UAV, you have two advantages: first of all, you can broadcast the video directly to the ground forces. And the other advantage is, we can stay in the sky a very, very long time—between 12 and 24 hours.” That’s a lot longer than any fighter pilot—French or American—could linger over the battlefield.
Tonight, The Coastal Source will air another of my TV stories featuring local troops in Afghanistan. This time, we’ll spend the night at an Afghan Police substation on a remote mountaintop, and feel an adrenaline rush as mortar rounds light up the night sky. Be sure not to miss this story tonight at 10pm on FOX 28, 11pm on WJCL/ABC, and again tomorrow on ABC’s “Good Morning” with Lyndy Brannen and Jessia Kiss between 5 and 7am.
Until next time- Michael
Blog photos
