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Wing member helps break airlift records

  • Published
  • By Sandra Henry
  • 919th Special Operations Wing
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  While most reservists assigned here were home for the holidays, one 919th Special Operations Wing aerial delivery technician was busy helping set aerial port records in Southwest Asia.

Staff Sgt. Stefan Halushka, 919th Logistics Readiness Squadron, headed for the SWA desert base in October where he now works as an aerial porter for the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Before coming to Duke Field three years ago, Sergeant Halushka performed honor guard ceremonies related to the 9-11 terrorist attacks. In spite of those duties, he said he didn't feel like he had really gotten involved enough in the war against terrorism. To remedy that, he volunteered for the four-month assignment.

"Now I'm experiencing a little of what this war is all about and gaining an appreciation for what's going on up range," he said.

His primary duties "up range" are performed on the ramp where he drives specialized aircraft loaders to load and unload aircraft arriving and departing the base.

"We handle baggage, ammo, vehicles, helicopters, cargo, just about anything," said Sergeant Halushka.

On one occasion, Sergeant Halushka was able to use his Honor Guard training to assist with an unscheduled aircraft that had fallen soldiers on board.

"While we waited for the chaplain and the appropriate transportation vehicle, I went over some of the basic commands with the Airmen who were with me. When the time came, we moved the caskets with honor and respect," he said.

Sergeant Halushka is one of 62 aerial port members from more than 18 different units responsible for an average of more than 2,000 aircraft missions a month.

They have moved more cargo and people than other groups who have rotated in and out of this base; a base that processes the majority of cargo heading into or out of Iraq, said Master Sgt. John Hopple, an air terminal operations center duty officer.

"There is nothing these men and women can't airlift," said Sergeant Hopple. "Every day, they bring heroes home and send the right stuff 'up north' to defeat our enemies."

Despite the increasing operations tempo and dealing with equipment availability issues, aerial port members eliminated a nearly 400-pallet backlog in the shipping yard.

"One-hundred fifty of the 397 (backlogged pallets) had paperwork problems that kept them from being ready for air shipment; and every day, we were receiving 36 to 80 new pallets," said Master Sgt. Scott Spackman, an aerial port cargo supervisor.

Eliminating the backlog required extensive coordination between the cargo yard, where accountability was maintained, and the Airmen who loaded and unloaded aircraft on the flightline, he said.

It took a lot of hard work and sweat, but taking it one pallet at a time, the backlog was reduced to 20 to 30 pallets, said Sergeant
Spackman.

The aerial porters reduced the backlog and set cargo and passenger records in spite of their backgrounds and the diversity of missions.

"We are a mixed bag of active, Reserve, Guard and Marines interacting with the Army on a daily basis," said Sergeant Hopple. "We move cargo and passengers on four foreign-owned aircraft as well as every branch of the DOD. Everyone had slightly different ways of doing things."

A "slightly different way" is how Sergeant Halushka plans to celebrate the holidays.

"Since I will be working on December 24th and 25th, I plan on attaching some decorations to my loader and wearing a Santa hat as I do my job," he said. "Although it's not at all like home, it will help me get into the holiday spirit."

(Staff Sgt. Scott Campbell, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs contributed to this story.)