Safety officials protect airfield during migration

Photo By Katherine Spessa | Maj. Benjamin Lindsay and Master Sgt. Jake Bayler, 455th Air Expeditionary Wing safety officials, patrol the base looking for hazardous wildlife March 11, 2017 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. During the migration season, safety officials will spend several hours each day trapping, harassing and, as a last resort, hunting, hazardous wildlife in the area. Lindsay also raises awareness of bird strike conditions and encourages pilots to modify their procedures to avoid the risk. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Katherine Spessa)  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

03.12.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Katherine Spessa 

455th Air Expeditionary Wing   

Safety officials with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing are raising awareness and working to mitigate the increased threat wildlife poses to aircraft and their pilots during spring migration season.

In 2015, bird strikes cost the Air Force $86 million in aircraft damages, nearly $250,000 of that at Kandahar Airfield alone, according to Maj. Benjamin Lindsay, 455th AEW Kandahar flight safety manager.

“One little bird can do a whole lot of damage if it hits the wrong part of an airplane,” said Lindsay. “We want to harass the birds so they don’t feel that Kandahar is the place to be, so they go somewhere else. The idea isn’t to kill them, it’s to get them moving and out of the way.”

During the migration season, Lindsay will spend several hours each day trapping, harassing and, as a last resort, hunting, hazardous wildlife in the area. Lindsay also raises awareness of bird strike conditions and educates pilots on modifying their procedures to avoid the risk.

Kandahar is home to more than just birds. Lindsay also works alongside the base’s Pest Control Office to mitigate threats from jackals, rabbits, snakes, scorpions, porcupines and other species seen around the base and particularly on the airfield.

These creatures also present a health concern to individuals working on the base, many of them carrying diseases like rabies and parrot fever.

Lindsay says that while killing an animal is always the last option, sometimes lethal force is necessary to ensure the safety of personnel and assets. When an animal is killed, it is preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institute to aid in research and to add to their Middle East wildlife collection.

“The Smithsonian is looking for species from Afghanistan that they wouldn’t be able to get on their own,” Lindsay said.

• Date Taken: 03.12.2017
• Date Posted: 03.16.2017 11:12
• Story ID: 227013
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF