'1000s of Hands' Project: 774th EAS Staff Sgt. Casey Strauss

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Cierra Presentado | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Casey Strauss, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules aircraft loadmaster, directs a truck as he prepares to load cargo Aug. 28, 2015 at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Strauss, who is a part of the ‘1000s of Hands’ project, is responsible for on-loading and offloading mission essential goods throughout Afghanistan as well as ensuring the safety of passengers and crew members during flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado/Released)  

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

09.04.2015

Story by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado 

455th Air Expeditionary Wing   

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Staff Sgt. Casey Strauss, 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-130J Super Hercules aircraft loadmaster is responsible for loading and unloading mission essential goods throughout Afghanistan, as well as ensuring the safety of passengers and crew members during flight.

Strauss travels to various forward operating bases in the Afghanistan area of responsibility to include Hamid Karzai International Airport, Camp Dwyer and Mazar-e-Sharif Airfield. He and his team make three to six stops a day delivering goods such as medical supplies, food and ammunition to military personnel to other FOB’s.

“Each mission we fly is different, there are times where we just pick up passengers and sometime we pick up passengers and cargo. Our job is to make sure everything gets on safely and gets off safely,” Strauss said. “I love my job, we do things we normally don’t do back at home station; working with such dedicated professional aviators has also been great. Being a loadmaster truly is a fun and exciting job.”

Strauss is part of the “1000s of Hands” of the 455 AEW Airmen who are crucial to the wing’s mission to generate and sustain air power on the combat frontier of Afghanistan’s NATO’s Resolute Support mission and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. The ‘1000s of Hands’ project highlights Vulture Airmen who have a hand in delivering a blanket of steel, technology and courage to protect the force in the field and support Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.

• Date Taken: 09.04.2015
• Date Posted: 09.04.2015 05:46
• Story ID: 175252
• Location: BAGRAM AIRFIELD, AF