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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=126&article=9264 Monday, July 15, 2002 Anti-terrorism allies on call at Kyrgyzstan base By Marni McEntee, Stars and Stripes -On Dec. 16, U.S. Air Forces in Europe sent the 86th Contingency Response Group from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to �kick in the door� of a new base. -�Since Afghanistan has no borders with the sea, the military had to go looking at all these countries where the U.S. doesn�t have much experience,� said Stohs, a pilot with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121, which has 12 F/A-18D planes at Ganci. -From December through mid-March, troops arrived from the United States, France, Republic of Korea, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Australia and the Netherlands. -About 1,900 troops � about half are American � now fall under the 376th Aerospace Expeditionary Wing and call Peter. -Although one U.S. official in Bishkek said �nothing was asked and nothing was promised� to the Kyrgyz government in return for allowing construction of the base, the U.S. government recently proposed to double its $40 million overall aid package to Kyrgyzstan for 2002, he said. -�As far as I know...there aren�t any plans to say goodbye.� PETER J. GANCI JR. AIR BASE, KYRGYZSTAN � In a land founded by horseback-riding nomads who lived in circular tents called yurts and were so fierce the Chinese built the Great Wall to repel them, a new tribe has arrived. This tribe is united, though its members call many nations home. It is master to the fighter plane, the fuel tanker and the cargo lifter, and it also is nomadic � though it moves with air-conditioned tents. To be sure, this tribe of troops from eight countries is fearsome. Its mission is to support Operation Enduring Freedom: the massive, coalition response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. �We�re here to make the terrorists realize they made a terrible mistake,� said Brig. Gen. Wayne Lloyd, the American commander of the 376th Aerospace Expeditionary Wing at Peter J. Ganci Jr. Air Base in Kyrgyzstan. �The entire world is united, and we�re not going to accept this kind of behavior anymore.� After Sept. 11, the U.S. Air Force scouted Central Asia for suitable locations to establish forward bases to launch its anti-terrorism campaign against the Afghanistan-based al Qaeda terrorist network. Askar Akayev, president of the Kyrgyz Republic and no stranger to the threat of radical Islamic terrorists, offered his country�s support. By December, military planners had settled on an area in north-central Kyrgyzstan, on land next to Manas International Airport. The area about 15 miles north of the capital, Bishkek, sits on a windswept, well-cultivated steppe 2,900 feet above sea level. Massive mountains, including Kyrgyzstan�s Tien Shan range southeast of Bishkek, encircle the steppe. On Dec. 16, U.S. Air Forces in Europe sent the 86th Contingency Response Group from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to �kick in the door� of a new base. That unit set up security, air traffic control and began negotiating with airport and government officials on the base�s footprint. A French air force engineer team worked alongside the Americans. Although planners had looked at one military base in the country, they settled on Manas because of its 14,000-foot runway and the 32-acre field suitable for a tent city. The airport can handle C-5 Galaxy cargo planes and 747s. Cargo from those heavy lifters is distributed to C-130 Hercules planes for movement throughout the theater. The runway, though long, is not up to American standards and is regularly closed for repair � especially to avoid the costly damage a stray rock could cause if it were sucked into a fighter jet intake. Every morning, crews make the 14,000-foot �FOD walk,� looking for foreign objects and debris that might trip up a fighter aircraft. But the base is in the right place � it saves fighter pilots some six hours in flight time from other potential launching areas, from ships or U.S. bases in Saudi Arabia, said Maj. Dave Stohs. �Since Afghanistan has no borders with the sea, the military had to go looking at all these countries where the U.S. doesn�t have much experience,� said Stohs, a pilot with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 121, which has 12 F/A-18D planes at Ganci. >From December through mid-March, troops arrived from the United States, France, Republic of Korea, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Australia and the Netherlands. The Marine F/A-18D squadron claimed a corner of the international airport and began flying combat sorties in April. The Koreans run the base�s hospital. Cargo missions are flown by Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Norwegian C-130s. France has sent six Mirage 2000 air-to-ground attack aircraft and two C-135 refuelers. Australians fly two Boeing 707 refuelers and Spain sent two HT-211 Super Puma rescue helicopters. About 1,900 troops � about half are American � now fall under the 376th Aerospace Expeditionary Wing and call Peter. J. Ganci Jr. Air Base their temporary home. Ganci was a New York City Fire Department Chief who died when the World Trade Center collapsed. At a cost of about $156,000 per day, the wing�s mission is to fly combat, cargo and tanker missions into Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Coordinating missions into Afghanistan with so many nations is a challenge, officers said. An American fighter pilot might receive mid-air gas from Australian, French, British or American refuelers. Spanish Super Puma helicopters are on site to rescue any nation�s personnel. Spanish, Dutch, Danish and Norwegian C-130 crews fly cargo missions into the war zone. And all must coordinate with ground-based special operations and regular Army forces in Afghanistan. �It takes a lot of integration and liaison work to coordinate operations,� said Lt. Col. Eric Bryant, executive officer of the Marine squadron. It is the first coalition air base where so many non-NATO forces are working together toward the same goal, Bryant said. Lloyd said it�s an idea whose time has come. �We�re helping create a world in which my grandkids can enjoy the same freedoms I had when I grew up,� Lloyd said. �It was getting to the point where we were losing some of those freedoms and we have to fight to get them back." Lloyd is hesitant to predict the future of Ganci Air Base. �I can tell you we�ll be here at least another week,� he said. So far, the U.S. military has spent $23 million on the base. The local community, which consists of 13 villages around the airport, has gleaned an estimated $8 million in benefits from the base. Some 140 local nationals work on base. They are office workers, kitchen helpers, janitors. Although one U.S. official in Bishkek said �nothing was asked and nothing was promised� to the Kyrgyz government in return for allowing construction of the base, the U.S. government recently proposed to double its $40 million overall aid package to Kyrgyzstan for 2002, he said. Under the U.S.-Kyrgyzstan agreement, up to 3,000 troops could be stationed at the base. Lloyd said the bulk of construction here is completed. A facility to store food is being built now. Lloyd said the Air Force plans to erect a fire hall to store its fire trucks so the water won�t freeze in the winter. It also plans a munitions storage area, a taxiway extension for fighter planes and tent upgrades before winter sets in again. There is no indication that the base�s presence has ruffled any feathers among the Kyrgyz people, who became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The environment is secure enough for the Air Force to organize cultural tours into Bishkek several times a week. Hiking trips to the mountains also are available. Kyrgyzstan air force Maj. Ibraev Kosmosbek, a liaison officer to the U.S.-led contingent, said despite the ex-Soviet ideology that the United States was the enemy, �We have only one enemy now.� He said the Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense sees the coalition presence as a stabilizing force in the region. The military initially made a one-year agreement with Kyrgyzstan, which can be renegotiated before it expires. Six months into the deal, a U.S. official, who asked to remain anonymous, said no decision has been made to pursue an extension. But, he cautioned, that should not be seen as a sign the coalition presence will end. �As far as I know,� he said, �there aren�t any plans to say goodbye.� __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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