Photo By Michael Vanpool | Soldiers of the 101st Sustainment Brigade conducted a convoy through the Salang Pass...... read more read more
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Nearly two miles above sea level, a four-kilometer tunnel lies under a perpetual layer of snow, ice and mud.
Avalanches can strike any month of the year. Exhaust and carbon monoxide from hundreds of daily drivers cannot escape the long stretch of concrete walls. Water drips inside during the day, and quickly freezes as the sun sets and the temperature drops.
The Salang Pass, one of many Soviet-era relics across Afghanistan, is a constant hurdle military convoys of the 101st Sustainment Brigade need to overcome to resupply servicemembers in Regional Command North.
As spring approaches and the heat slowly encroaches, the mountain pass, nestled in the Kindu Kush, is unaware of the rising heat taking over most of Afghanistan.
“You go from here to Antarctica, and that’s what it’s like,” said Staff Sgt. Andrew Hutzell, assistant convoy commander for 2nd Platoon, 109th Transportation Company, 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, during a recent convoy through the Salang Tunnel.
A long stretch of dirt-covered roads and smaller tunnels lead up to the Salang Pass. As a forest in the foothills gets smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, the road hugs the edge of a cliff as the convoys reach higher into the sky.
“The view is nice because there trees and small villages at the bottom, and as you go up it’s all white with snow,” said Pfc. Gary Odon, a gunner for 2nd Platoon, 109th Trans. Company. “It’s a big difference from the dirt and rocks we usually see on the road.”
Earth slides and avalanches are sporadic and can occur upon a convoy at any moment, blocking the route and potentially trapping soldiers. The most recent avalanche happened this past February and claimed the lives of 200 Afghans.
Regardless of the conditions that lay ahead, the convoys continue to make the trek through the mountains.
“The roads are unpaved, or at least don’t look paved from all the mud and rocks that fall from the mountains,” said Sgt. Dennis Siguenza, a truck commander and the mission commander for the company.
The convoys share the road with hundreds of Afghans, who make the trip through the pass daily. The sides of the pass are littered with cars, minivans and Host Nation trucks that couldn’t make the journey up the mountainside.
“The only time traffic builds up is if a car breaks down, which is often,” Siguenza said.
The narrow road quickly becomes congested with vehicles following a breakdown or accident. Soldiers with the convoys, sometimes with assistance from the Afghan National Army, have to lead the way and breakup the ensuing gridlock.
“The drive itself isn’t bad; it’s the traffic and tunnels,” Odon said. “We’re not allowed to push traffic, so we have to direct traffic.”
The road winds along a steep cliff, passing through many tunnels, before reaching the peak. A four-kilometer long tunnel sits at the top and leads the way to the other side. The soldiers can tell the summit it approaching by the diminishing oxygen and the popping ears.
“The air is so thin,” Odon said. “I’ve never reached muscle failure so fast than putting snow chains on the trucks on the mountains.”
Snow and ice are constant at the top, and the convoys with armored vehicles and host nation trucks need extra attention to make it through. Sometimes, snow chains are not enough for the host nation trucks.
Inside the Salang Tunnel, ice prevented every host nation truck from making it through during a recent company convoy. “The HNTs were stuck inside the tunnel, and we had to pull every single one to the other side,” Hutzell said.
Ice is a hurdle for the drivers to overcome, but the gunners in the turrets have other concerns as they travel through the long stretch.
“Inside, carbon monoxide is so bad and thick that it’s almost like a fog,” Odon said.
The massive amounts of car exhaust have nowhere to go. The tunnel walls are sealed to prevent snow from making its way inside, although water still drips in and turns to ice.
“The cars inside will rev their engines, causing more fumes to become trapped inside,” Siguenza said. “They have ventilation fans that don’t work; they only move with the breeze of passing cars.”
There are no lights inside, so only headlights lead the way.
Eventually, the sunlight reappears as the convoys near the end of the tunnel and the other side.
“It’s not the easiest in terms of missions, but it’s definitely the most scenic,” Odon said. “It’s a complicated route. You need a lot patience to make it.”
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2011 01:20 |
| Story ID: | 68558 |
| Location: | PARWAN PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 549 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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