Soldiers with the 101st Sustainment Brigade listen attentively as they receive a block of instruction on conducting mortuary affairs at the Mortuary Affairs Collection Point at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, in March 2011. The brigade and the 101st Special Troops Battalion provided critical support to the MACP who processed the recent fallen members of the special operations forces team killed this past week when a rocket-propelled grenade struck their Chinook in Afghanistan. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes

The first call came early Saturday morning, Aug. 6, about the 38 U.S. and Afghan troops, killed by insurgents who shot down their CH-47 Chinook helicopter. After getting the call, Sgt. 1st Class Mary Perez said she doesn’t remember getting much sleep from that moment on.

She, along with other senior leaders from the 101st Sustainment Brigade and the 101st Special Troops Battalion, began rolling up their sleeves and headed to the Bagram Air Field Mortuary Affairs Collection Point where they were tasked to provide support in preparation for the eventual ramp ceremony.

“You’re tasked out to do it and it’s your job. But to do something like that, it’s just … different,” said Perez, a brigade military intelligence non-commissioned officer in charge. “It’s not just a tasking anymore. It’s something personal. It’s a tasking that as a soldier, no matter who you are or what rank you wear on your chest, you execute, and you execute to your fullest capability.”

The members of the special operations mission – which included 22 Navy SEALS, three U.S. Air Force airmen, four U.S. Army air crew members and a K-9 unit dog – died after their helicopter was apparently shot down last week as they were flying in to help Army Rangers who were going after insurgents on the ground.

Eight Afghan commandos and an Afghan interpreter were also on board the downed aircraft.

The Department of Defense has ordered an investigation into the incident. According to official reports, the deaths are the highest number of U.S. forces killed during a single event in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The Mortuary Affairs Collection Point at Bagram is tasked with the retrieval, tentative identification, transportation and burial of deceased American and allied personnel. The brigade’s special troops battalion provides staff supervision at the site, which is operated by the 54th Quartermaster Company, based out of Fort Lee, Va.

The senior leaders from the brigade and battalion assigned to the detail are not specifically trained as mortuary affairs specialists. They helped with recovering and transporting the remains from the flight line, getting additional transfer cases, ironing the flags, and cleaning the MACP site.

They also took part in the ramp ceremony, acting as pallbearers and carrying the transfer cases of the deceased to the special operations forces units to load onto the planes heading back to the U.S.

“They provided the logistical support we needed, like the vehicles for transport and additional cases as we needed,” said Sgt. 1st Class Alessa Jose, Bagram MACP non-commissioned officer in charge, 54th QM Company “They also made sure we had additional refrigeration units for the fallen.”

Jose said her team normally receives between one and two remains a day to process and handles all aspects of the preparation. She said her team received the remains on Sunday morning, Aug. 7, and was able to process and prepare all of the remains by Monday, Aug. 8.

“Their (Lifeliners) support was critical because of the time involved,” she said. “If it was just us doing this, the processing would have taken longer.”

“By the Lifeliners coming in and helping with the other part, it allowed us to focus on the processing job and cut down a lot of the time. You’re looking at about a 36-hour time frame. That helped us out a lot.”

Brigade medical operations officer Maj. Dierdre Lockhart was part of the truck team detail for loading and unloading the deceased SOF team members and said the Lifeliners’ involvement illustrated their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty.

“It definitely showed we were willing to pick up the ball and run with it when we were needed,” she said.

The brigade conducted Leadership Professional Development training on Mortuary Affairs this past March, where they were introduced to how fallen heroes are identified and processed in preparation to be sent home.

But even attending that training did not prepare the senior leaders for being active participants in an actual event.

Perez said she and other senior leaders in the brigade received a call to go to the MACP, but were unsure what their duty was going to be. As time went on, they started to figure it out, she said.

She and two other officers were also assigned to a truck team that loaded and unloaded the remains. It was the first time she’s ever been involved with something like this, she said.

“You come there to do a mission and then the reality hits you: all you could see, smell and feel was death,” she said. “And you have to maintain composure.”

Perez said she noticed the Navy SEALs carrying their fallen teammates to the trucks. “I mean, these guys are tough, they’re in it, they’re the ones kicking in doors, but I’ve never seen them look more vulnerable,” she said. “They’re not just machines. It brings light to the fact that we’re all in this fight together.”

The decision to use brigade and battalion senior ranking leadership to assist the MACP unit was not lost on Perez, she said.

“You don’t want to expose your junior soldiers to that. It’s emotional and disheartening when you’re in this fight to see mass amounts of casualties like that. There were majors ironing the flags and mopping the floors in the MACP, not because it was a task, but because it was the right thing to do,” she said.

The seniors also intensely rehearsed their part of the ramp ceremony, filling transfer cases with bundles of water and practiced carrying the containers on the K-loaders to deliver to the SOF teams.

“We wanted to do this right and give these guys the honor they earned and deserved,” Perez said. “As an NCO, you know what right looks like. These guys deserve the very best we could give them. Everything had to be perfect.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Peter Mayes

U.S. Army Sgt. Perry Pyle, a dog handler with 49th Mine Dog Detachment, 54th Engineer Battalion, Task Force Dolch and native of St. Louis, rewards his partner, Finta, with some play time for a job well done on mine-detection training lanes at Bagram Air Field, Dec. 15. The dogs are tested regularly to ensure they can maintain the high find rates required of mine detection dogs. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Larson

Ever heard the phrase, “Every dog has its day”?

Well, the mine detection dogs and handlers from the 49th Mine Dog Detachment, 54th Engineer Battalion, Task Force Dolch, based at Bagram Air Field, know that better than most. These highly trained animals are used to help soldiers on the ground find some of the most elusive enemies in theater – landmines and improvised explosive devices.

The 49th MDD, attached to TF Dolch for their deployment to Afghanistan, consists of only a handful of soldiers who are responsible for conducting clearance operations alongside multiple route clearance patrols and many other missions that TF Dolch Sappers execute. Sappers are elite Ranger-like combat engineers who work with demolitions.

The dogs are tested regularly to ensure they can maintain the high find rates required of their job. Using actual land mines and munitions found around Bagram that coalition explosive ordnance detachment members rendered inert, the handlers built training lanes designed to help keep their companions mission ready at all times.

“We have anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines (and) anti-personnel landmines that are used as boosters for anti-tank mines, hand grenades, artillery rounds and everything in between,” said U.S. Army Sgt. John Bornhoff of the 49th MDD and resident of North Prairie, Wis.

There are 10 training and testing lanes, which are one meter wide by 10 meters long each. Bricks divide the lanes, and random ordnances are buried throughout.

“The dogs will key on even the slightest explosive scent that, (when) combined with a visual signature, will give the dog more than it needs to know that something is there,” said Bornhoff.

The presence of the MDD gives the soldiers of TF Dolch a bit more confidence and a nice morale boost.

“Just being able to be around the dogs makes the morale of the soldiers that much better,” said U.S. Army Capt. William Robinson Jr., chaplain for the 54th Engr. Bn., TF Dolch, and native of Youngstown, Ohio.

The MDD is a great asset for TF Dolch soldiers to remove at least some of the unexploded ordnance and IED threats military personnel and local civilians face in Afghanistan.

DVIDS
By U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Larson

Christy Hemme, former wrestler for the World Wrestling Entertainment, signs an autograph for a Soldier. The WWE Divas of Wrestling signed autographs and took pictures for the troops of Bagram Air Field, March 24, at the Morale Welfare and Recreation Clamshell.

Wide grins could be seen as troops from different branches and different countries eagerly got into a line that wrapped around the inside of the tent.

For more than two hours, Terry Runnels, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Christy Hemme and Shelly Martinez – former World Wrestling Entertainment Divas – signed autographs and posed for photos with service members and civilians at Bagram Air Field’s Morale, Welfare, and Recreation gym, March 24.

“Events like having the divas here give the troops a break,” said Air Force Capt. Carey Caudell, Task Force Warrior. “When you work seven days a week, you need something to take your mind off the day to day and just relax.”

For three of the four divas, this is their first trip to deployed troops, only Runnels had made a trip to Kuwait to visit troops before.

They were invited as part of the MWR’s effort to keep the morale of deployed troops high.

“The morale of troops is important because we are away from family and friends,” said Army Pvt. Nathan Brown, 101st Airborne Division Special Troops Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company.

“Things like this helps remind us that we are still supported.”

Hemme wanted to do the tour because she didn’t want the “filtered version of the war.” She wanted to see how things were for herself.

“People back home will never really understand how things are here without actually having ever been here,” said Martinez.

In addition to Bagram, the divas also visited a couple of forward operating bases. Due to weather issues, some planned visits to the smaller forward operating bases were cancelled.

“It felt as if my heart was ripped out when we realized we were going to miss a few stops”, said Hemme.

Shelly Martinez, a Diva of Wrestling, talks to a Soldier before signing an autograph, March 24. The WWE Divas of Wrestling were at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation Clamshell to sign autpgraphs and allow troops from Bagram Air Field to get pictures taken with the ladies.

The women made every moment count by visiting with the troops as often as possible while touring the FOBs. Aside from meals, sleeping and an hour of shopping, the majority of their time was spent with troops.

Even during meals, they were happy to take a break for photos and autographs. Their goal was to show their appreciation to the troops and remind them that people from the States support them.

“It makes us happy to see [troops] happy,” said Runnels, who added she felt honored and humbled by her experience here.

The divas never said “you’re welcome” when troops thank them for being here, said Kevin Dessart, the diva’s tour manager. Their response was always “No! Thank you.”

From the looks on the troops faces during the meet and greet with the divas, the morale of a decent number of troops was uplifted by their presence here.

“The divas are the best tour we have had so far because of their genuine concern, curiosity and overall love for the troops,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Mark Gore, an MWR planner.

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Opal Hood

Civilians who previously risked life and limb scrounging for scrap metal in minefields surrounding Bagram now have an opportunity to enjoy a safer existence and work in paid jobs, thanks to efforts of an Afghan firm and soldiers from Australia and the United States.

Landmines continue to saturate the landscape of Afghanistan more than any other country on Earth. Informed estimates suggest that as many as 20-million anti-personnel and anti-tank mines were laid during the Soviet occupation and the later conflict between the Taliban and Northern Alliance.

Over the past six years, more than 200,000 landmines have been cleared in and around Bagram Air Field, but it is a slow, tedious, dirty and dangerous job. Hundreds of Afghans are already employed as de-miners by government agencies and private contractors, but there are other civilians so poor, unskilled or young who are prepared to risk everything by venturing into the minefields in search of scrap metal.

“People wandering through the minefields present a danger to the de-miners as well as themselves,” said Major Dave Bergman, an Australian Army officer who’s in charge of the Mine Action Centre – an international military organisation focused on making the Bagram area safe from the mine threat.

“I know of one man with eight children who has been blown up four times and now has a prosthetic leg simply from gathering scrap metal in the minefields in order to make enough money to feed his family,” he said.

Aware of the high rate of injuries caused by landmines being handled by non-qualified people, Major Bergman and his American staff members, began looking for ways to get the scavengers off the minefields while still allowing them to make a living.

The Mine Action Centre turned to Hemayat Brothers Demining International (HDI), the first Afghan company in the mine action industry which has been operating in the Bagram area with Coalition forces for a number of years. HDI was already a major employer of local labour, but was eager to assist with two pilot programs directed towards those who would otherwise try to make a living scavenging or tending animals on the minefields.

“HDI has established a demilitarisation program which recycles munitions from the minefields in a safe and secure manner as well as a carpentry program that teaches new skills and provides products for the community,” Major Bergman said.

“The demilitarisation program employs five people. Three qualified carpenters are also employed in the carpentry program to teach up to ten locals who all have a mine-related disability.”

“It’s wonderful to see an Afghan-owned company empowered and successful enough to be taking the lead and finding solutions to help the citizens of this country in such a way.”

The Mine Action Centre has also been at the forefront of negotiations to establish a medical outreach program through the Korean Hospital and has worked closely with the major base services contractor KBR to secure jobs on Bagram Air Base for the bread winners of poor families who have had a mine trauma incident.

Up to two civilians per week are injured by landmine explosions in the Bagram area.

The significance of the new programs and the hope they bring for a better life is highlighted by the tragedy inflicted upon Romina, a 12-year old Afghan mine victim.

“I was herding our cows in a field and they started straying,” he said through an interpreter.

“All I remember is swatting them with a limb and the next thing I know I am on the ground and my sister is lying a little way from me bleeding. I didn’t even realise my leg was gone until I looked over and saw it.”

Left untouched, the mines littering Afghanistan will still pose a danger decades from now. With the help of alternative employment programs which allow poor people to make a living in safety, it is hoped many of the mines lurking in the soil will not find an innocent victim born years after the devices were laid.

ISAF

Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith (left) and Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith (right) celebrate at a graduation for their younger sister, Army Chief Warrant Officer Lacey Smith (center). All three Smith sisters are pilots in the armed forces. (Courtesy photo)

Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith and Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith, sisters from White Salmon, Wash., pose for a picture together on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, July 15. Captain Smith, a C-130 pilot, and Chief Smith, an OH-58 Kiowa pilot, both deployed to Afghanistan and spent a few weeks together at Bagram. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

They never planned on being pilots and Afghanistan was the last place they expected to see each other, but that’s just what happened for two sisters from White Salmon, Wash.

Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith and Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith grew up in a family rich with aviation ties. Their grandfather flew in the Army Air Corps as a lieutenant colonel during World War II and a commercial pilot after that. Their grandmother and mother were flight attendants. Multiple others in the family became commercial pilots, including their father, uncle and a few cousins.

“Just growing up around it so much, I think we all loved airplanes,” Captain Smith said. “We loved being around airplanes, going up in airplanes, hearing about them.”

However, both went off to college with no intention of going into aviation. Captain Smith studied English and journalism at the University of Arizona and Chief Smith became a cheerleader at the University of Washington.

“I think each of us, at one point, started to rebel,” said Captain Smith. “I know I did. I said I wasn’t going to be a pilot.”

Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith, a pilot with the 146th Airlift Wing in Channel Islands, Calif., stands in front of a C-130 on Bagram Air Field’s flightline, July 17. Captain Smith deployed to Afghanistan and served alongside her younger sister, Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith, an OH-58 Kiowa pilot with Task Force Shadow, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Morse)

That quickly changed. During her freshman year, Captain Smith began to notice the A-10s and C-130s flying into Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

“It looked interesting and at that point I decided I didn’t want a desk job,” she said. “So, I started flying my dad’s little Cessna 150 when I was home the summer after my freshman year. After I soloed, I decided this is really fun.”

Captain Smith transferred to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a flight instructor after graduating.

Chief Smith turned to aviation after two years of college.

“It came to a point where I had to declare my major and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Chief Smith explained. “Flying had always interested me so I went and got my private pilot’s license in a fixed wing.”

Their father had encouraged them to look into the military for flying opportunities. Captain Smith jumped first, enlisting in the California Air National Guard shortly after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

“[Sept. 11] hit me pretty hard because I had been planning on going to the airlines and interviewing that December,” she said. “I’ll never forget looking up with all my friends and seeing all our flights cancelled. It was almost like seeing my career go up in smoke.”

After graduating from basic military training at Lackland AFB, Texas, Captain Smith was selected for the pilot board, got her commission and became a C-130 pilot for the 146th Airlift Wing in Channel Islands, Calif.

“I always liked the C-130s,” she said. “I happened to meet this girl whose father is one of the colonels in our unit. He introduced me to everyone in the unit and I got to see all the planes. I thought it was really cool ““ I decided that was what I wanted to do. I had discovered something that I was really excited in.”

In 2003, knowing that she wanted to fly, Chief Smith enlisted in the Army. She chose her airframe, the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, almost by chance.

“I think you should pick an aircraft based on the mission, but I didn’t really know much about any of the missions,” she said. “I actually liked flying the TS-57 [in Army flight school] and thought helicopters would be similar ““ little did I know. I ended up getting Kiowa which was probably the best thing that could have ever happened to me. I’m really glad I got it ““ it has an awesome mission.”

Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith pauses for a picture in a OH-58 Kiowa during her deployment to Iraq in 2006. Chief Smith is now deployed to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, where her sister, Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith, a C-130 pilot, was deployed as well. The two sisters from White Salmon, Wash., spent a few weeks together at Bagram before Captain Smith redeployed back home. (Courtesy photo)

Fully qualified on the Kiowa, Chief Smith was stationed with the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky. In late 2007, her unit deployed to Forward Operating Base Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Not long after deploying, Chief Smith began to receive e-mails from her sister, Captain Smith ““ whose unit would be deploying to Bagram Air Field. They would be in different services, different locations, assigned to different units, but they found a commonality in their mission in Afghanistan ““ aiding troops on the ground.

“We have two completely different missions, but we both take care of the ground troops,” said Captain Smith. “The C-130s do a lot of airdrops and it’s fulfilling because you are getting the beans and bullets to the guys on the ground.”

Chief Smith agreed.

“I love [the Kiowa] mission because we work in direct support of the ground units,” Chief Smith explained. “It’s awesome to help them because they are the ones with boots on the ground.”

Although not at the same base, the two sisters got the opportunity to see each other in May when Chief Smith’s commander allowed her to fly to Bagram for a two-day visit.

“I loved the day that Amber came to visit,” Captain Smith said. “She came and got me up in the morning, we walked to the PX and got coffee, pizza, and massages. When you’re back home, you can have girls’ day ““ it was kind of like that, but Bagram style.”

Captain Smith also got the chance to see Chief Smith when she flew C-130s down to Jalalabad. Their favorite moment came out of one of these trips.

“We were taking off out of Jalalabad, Amber was on approach and we heard each other on the tower radio,” Captain Smith recalled with enthusiasm. “That was the coolest thing.”

“I thought, how often in our lives is that ever going to happen ““ in combat,” Chief Smith said.

Fellow pilots soon heard about the sisters.

“Everybody I work with knew my sister was here so whenever they would hear a female voice on the radio they would tell me that they heard my sister on the radio,” Chief Smith said.

“Me too,” added Captain Smith. “Whenever guys in our unit would fly down to Jalalabad and hear a women on the radio they would tell me they heard my sister. I have to tell them that there are other female pilots out there ““ we aren’t the only ones.”

Good news came for the two when Chief Smith’s unit relocated to Bagram. Although Captain Smith redeployed back to California in mid-July, the sisters spent a few weeks together.

“The past two weeks that I’ve been here we have probably seen each other more than we have in the past five years,” explained Chief Smith. “We are hardly ever together ““ it seems like somebody is always gone.”

Captain Smith and Chief Smith have each deployed twice and both agree it is easier being deployed together. Chief Smith went to Iraq in 2005 and Captain Smith to Southwest Asia shortly after.

“Here, we are both pilots and have the same type of intel,” explained Captain Smith. “It was harder for me being home when she was in Iraq because I didn’t know what was going on. I had never been deployed, and that’s scary. I can see why family and friends worry because they don’t hear about stuff.”

As the older sister, Captain Smith, 31, added that she doesn’t worry about her little sister, 26-year-old Chief Smith too much.

“Here, I get worried, but Chief Smith is a really, really good pilot ““ you can just tell she is,” said the proud older sister. “There is always that lingering fear ““ when things happen and I haven’t heard from her. But it’s not like I’m constantly worrying. I think I would be even more worried if I was stuck at home without a clue as to what was going on.”

Despite the fact there have been a few days the sisters have not been able to see each other or talk to each other because of work, they both agree having each other here makes it easier.

“Just knowing that you have that other person who is here for you ““ not just a friend, but family is really nice,” Captain Smith said.

It may be easier on them, but it’s not easier on their parents.

“I think they are handling this deployment better than the last one,” said Chief Smith. “Last time, none of us had deployed before, so it was like their first deployment too. They are doing better with it, but they’ll be excited when we are all home. They always say, “˜Be safe and we can’t wait to see you,’ but they are very supportive about it and very practical.”

Captain Smith agreed.

“We are very, very fortunate because our mom realized from the get-go that it would be harder on us to know that they are worrying about us all the time,” she said. “So she does a good job of reeling my dad in when he would start whining about how worried he was. That would make it harder on Amber, for example, when she’s not only worried about whatever her job is but she’s worried about making sure mom and dad are ok.”

Captain and Chief Smith aren’t the only ones their parents worry about. Younger sister Lacey, 25, is an Army Chief Warrant Officer and flies the UH-60 Black Hawk. Her unit, A Company, 101st Aviation, replaces Chief Amber Smith’s unit this winter.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Lacey Smith smiles in the cockpit of a UH-60 Blackhawk. Her sisters, Army Chief Warrant Officer Amber Smith, an OH-58 Kiowa pilot, and Air Force Capt. Kelly Smith, a C-130 pilot, had overlapping deployments to Afghanistan. Chief Lacey Smith will overlap with Chief Amber Smith when her unit replaces her sister’s in Afghanistan this fall. (Courtesy photo)

Chief Amber Smith expects a few weeks of overlap with Chief Lacey Smith, just as she has with Captain Smith. This will be Chief Lacey Smith’s first deployment.

“Amber and Kelly have given me great info about what all the different places are like,” Chief Lacey Smith said. “I am really looking forward to our upcoming deployment.”

Like her sisters, Chief Lacey Smith looks forward to supporting the troops on the ground ““ and the flying.

“I chose Black Hawks because of their mission diversity,” she said. “I’m not one for shooting things up, but love to have guys like Amber buzzing around us. Plus I love being able to meet and help soldiers.”

CJTF-101
Written by Air Force Staff Sgt. Rachel M. Martinez 455th AEW Public Affairs