The
455th Expeditionary Aerial Port Squadron, Det. 3 at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan, has grown in size to handle the surge of activity at the installation as coalition forces transfer personnel and equipment out of the country. Camp Marmal is a forward operating base near the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif; the camp is primarily home to German forces. “Right now there is a surge in movement at Camp Marmal,” said Lt. Col. Luther King, 455th EAPS commander at Bagram Airfield, in a Feb. 13 release. “That is why we decided to send the additional airmen to help,” he added. Detachment members are tasked with loading and unloading every US aircraft that comes in and out of the camp, processing more than 2,600 pounds of cargo and some 2,200 personnel each month, states the release. (Bagram report by SrA. Chris Willis)
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.


