Photo By Michael O'Halloran | Col. Timothy LaBarge (second from left), 105th Airlift Wing commander, was joined by...... read more read more
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STEWART AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. - The team of New York Air National Guard members responsible for organizing cargo operations at the 105th Airlift Wing has been recognized by the Air National Guard.
The members of the 105th Air and Ground Operations Response Team received the Air National Guard Chief of Staff Team Excellence Award at a ceremony held here earlier this week.
The award recognizes the work team members performed during deployments to Afghanistan and here at home during the New York National Guard response to Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012.
The Air and Ground Operations Response Team, or AGORT, is trained to coordinate air cargo operations and quickly move supplies on and off of aircraft in a combat environment.
During a deployment to Afghanistan last year the team played a major role in training International Security Assistance Force personnel in loading and unloading cargo aircraft at forward operating locations.
They also designed aerial port of debarkation loading and unloading procedures at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan-a major coalition forces installation-which reduced air cargo idle time by 45 percent.
Higher headquarters inspectors declared the Camp Bastion air cargo operation run by the 105th Airlift Wing members the best in the Area of Operations and estimated they saved almost $20 million by reducing backlogs in the cargo handling system.
The team was also credited with keeping 99 percent of the 122 airfield vehicles they managed running, reducing safety violations, moving 13.6 million pounds of cargo and 60,381 passengers in six months, and coordinating a swap of Spanish helicopters and 6.7 million pounds of cargo ahead of schedule.
The experience the team gained in Afghanistan was put to good use in the wake of Hurricane Sandy when Stewart Air National Guard base became the hub of national-level efforts to ship utility repair equipment and vehicles into the northeast from other parts of the county.
The team handled the 600 percent increase in normal cargo flow into the base without incident. They oversaw the recovery and launch of 36 heavy cargo planes in less than 60 hours, unloaded 98 large utility vehicles and 2.6 million pounds of cargo and 800 civilian and military responders to the disaster from federal agencies.
At the same time the 105th Airlift Wing sent unit members into the New York City and Long Island area to assist with relief operations and served as a transit point for other New York Air National Guard elements moving to assist in the storm response.
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2013 15:58 |
| Story ID: | 112860 |
| Location: | STEWART AIR GUARD STATION, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 132 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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