Welcome to Manas: Transit center serves as gateway to and from Afghanistan

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kimberly Hill | Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division receive their welcome brief from Sgt. Matthew J. Merzke, a motor transport operator with the 371st Sustainment Brigade after arriving at the Manas Transit Center, Kyrgyzstan on Aug. 1, 2013. The soldiers are returning from their deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  

KYRGYZSTAN

08.01.2013

Story by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hill 

371st Sustainment Brigade

MANAS TRANSIT CENTER, Kyrgystan – Soldiers in multicam patterned uniforms, their arms and backs weighed down with multiple bags and gear pour out of the white buses lined up along the curb.

They follow orders to unload their gear in one of two small tents off to the side of the terminal.

Although clearly exhausted, most of the soldiers are in good cheer, smiling and joking with their peers as they file into a building and take their seats in front of two large projectors, ready to listen to a briefing.

“We’re just glad to be going home,” said Capt. Douglas A. Worstell, the commander of the 320th Military Police Company, based out of St. Petersburg, Florida and returning home from Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Personnel deploying, returning to their duty stations or going on leave from Afghanistan and other areas in the region must first go through the Joint Movement Control center (JMCC) at the Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan before arriving at their destination.
“This is the gateway to and from Afghanistan,” said Thomas N. Naser, a Dayton, Ohio native and the night shift noncommissioned officer in charge of the JMCC.

Soldiers with the 371st Sustainment Brigade are working in the JMCC at the Manas Transit Center to provide support to their fellow service members, contractors and foreign military entering and exiting theater since June, 2013.

Although the transit center is run by Air Force personnel, each branch must have their own representatives working and coordinating to manifest the flights, provide support and operate the data theater accountability system (DTAS), which starts and stops all deployment monetary entitlements while deployed, said Sgt. Matthew J. Merzke, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the DTAS operations with the 371st Sus. Bde.

These entitlements include combat duty pay and hostile fire pay, said Pfc. Darryl H. Shueller, Bowman, S.C. native and a human resources specialist with the 101st Human Resources Company, 371st Special Troops Battalion, 371st Sus. Bde.

“We in-process everybody, we ship them out, and start their entitlements and end their entitlements, said Shueller.

The JMCC handles anywhere from 600 to 1,200 people a day coming to and from theater, said

Sgt. Maj. Todd Friend, the Third Army senior liaison noncommissioned officer with the 371st Sus. Bde.

Working in a joint service environment means that all service members working in the transit center must coordinate with one another to ensure that a flight is properly manifested and the numbers are accurate, said Merzke.

“There’s really good teamwork and everybody cooperates really well,” he said.

Although the fast-paced and sometimes hectic environment can be a challenge to accountability, providing excellent customer service to travel weary personnel is the key to smooth running operations, said Naser.

“You just have to come in with a smile,” he said.

• Date Taken: 08.01.2013
• Date Posted: 08.10.2013 01:44
• Story ID: 111709
• Location: KG