Base Builders

Airmen deployed from the 615th Contingency Response Wing at Travis AFB, Calif., recently worked side-by-side with their Afghan and Italian coalition partners to restore an ex-Soviet airfield in Shindand, Afghanistan. It is now being used to support coalition operations and is slated to become home to undergraduate pilot training for the Afghan National Army Air Corps within the next two years. “The airfield will have a long-lasting, positive impact on both coalition and Afghan forces,” said Maj. Marshall Preston, director of operations for the wing’s 572nd Contingency Response Group. The Travis airmen first assessed the base in August, finding it to be in great disrepair from age and neglect. They began to repair the control tower and other buildings, repave the heavily damaged airstrip, and install airfield lighting. They completed their work in October, enabling initial operations to commence. (Scott report by Roger Drinnon)