Local aircraft troops to Afghanistan this summer
For the first time since the Vietnam War, aircraft and troops of the 109th Airwing Lift, based in Scotia, will head out to perform tactical missions in the hostile environment of an active combat situation.
Commanders at the New York Air National Guard, housed at the Schenectady County Airport, announced Thursday that members of the airlift squadron will be deployed to Afghanistan later this summer. Officials were tight-lipped with most of the details of the operation, including how many of the base’s 1,300 personnel would head out to Operation Enduring Freedom, where they will land, what their mission will be, and how long they will remain in the war-torn country.
There are many unknowns, and we haven’t had Intel briefs yet, said 190th Airwing Lift Colonel Anthony P. German. `What we’re doing now is preparing for the conditions we’ll be landing in, and doing specialized tactical training. We conduct more intensive preparatory training for deployment in a combat theater of operations.`
Since 9-11, the unit has been on a variety of missions in support of operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, sending personnel that were primarily medics and engineers. The 109th unit has become well known for its airlift operations supporting science research at the north and south poles.
Major Mike Steindl of Greenwich was the only unit member to on his way to Afghanistan with his identity made known Thursday. A former United Airlines pilot, Steindl has flown into combat support missions, including several to Haiti, but said those were peaceful operations.
`I haven’t been in combat before this,` said the 36-year-old father of three young children. `I’m not nervous; when you fly airplanes you develop confidence. We all rely on the training we receive to keep us safe and successful. We’re all part of a team.`
Thursday afternoon, air force personnel bused members of the press out to the airfield for a tour of a LC-130 Hercules, similar to the craft Steindl will fly with another pilot, a flight engineer and a navigator. Steindl declined to name any other members of the flight crew, nor did he say how many personnel or what type of equipment he would be transporting.
The cavernous, stripped-down craft is lined with canvas seats, and has space to carry up to 50,000 pounds of cargo or pick up a Humvee through a back hatch. The craft can fly about 6-8 hours fully fueled, but the flight pattern to Southwest Asia will not be released. However, the voluminous aircraft will undergo its own wartime regimen before taking flight to Afghanistan.
`We need to strip off all the orange paint used to identify the plane as it flew on arctic missions,` said Steindl. `It’s going to be given a camouflage paint job. We don’t want it to be identified from the ground.`
Within a month, those involved in the mission will head to the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center in Missouri, considered the premiere facility for combat training. In the coming weeks, personnel will also practice nighttime and low-ground maneuvers in the local skies. Officials ask that residents near the county airport be aware of the unusual training schedule and not be alarmed by low-flying planes.
The crew will also be practicing landing aircraft on non-runway conditions.
`This will be an uncontrolled airfield, like landing in Louisiana when we went for hurricane clean-up,` said German. `We’ll be looking for a lot of debris. There won’t necessarily be a clean spot to land.`
German also declined to give any information about the length of the unit’s mission.
`Our job is to be deployed until we’re told to go home,` said German. `This is our job. It’s not that we enjoy going into combat, but this is what we do.`
Steindl’s father, Robert, who now divides his time between Glenville and Myrtle Beach, S.C., served in the U.S. Air Force for 11 years of active duty and 11 years in the reserves. Steindl said he has been in contact with his father since he found out about his deployment orders about two months ago.
`He’s obviously worried about me going, but he understands,` said Steindl.
On the runways, as other military aircraft took off and landed for test runs, Steindl squinted into the sunny skies and said he hopes to leave with the knowledge the local community is behind them, keeping them in their thoughts and prayers.
`I haven’t heard from anyone saying they don’t support what we’re doing,` said Steindl. `I won’t get into the political side of it because that’s not part of my job. I’m just here to do my job to support my country. I joined up because of my sense of duty. I’m proud about this opportunity to serve.`
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