KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan—Soldiers with the Ohio National Guard's 1487th Transportation Company were awarded, May 22, for their efforts to help recover an aircraft in Southern Afghanistan.
Leadership with the 495th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion- Montana National Guard, along with representatives from DynCorp International presented ‘Iron Camel’ Soldiers and their command, with certificates of appreciation for transporting the DynCorp-owned aircraft to Kandahar Airfield.
Normal operations for the 1487th includes hauling supplies to fellow Soldiers at various forward operating bases and running retrograde missions throughout Afghanistan’s Regional Commands South and Southwest.
“If we have to recover a vehicle, it’s usually one within our own convoy or on a FOB that we are convoying from, but nonetheless, it’s a vehicle,” said Staff Sgt. William Miller, a convoy commander with the 1487th Transportation Co., and native of Troy, Ohio. “Recovering a helicopter was definitely outside of our comfort zone, but we were able to accomplish our mission successfully.”
Recovering the Mi-8 Russian transport helicopter required collaboration with 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Soldiers and DynCorp’s engineers who helped secure the area and load the aircraft onto the 1487th’s Heavy Equipment Transport System vehicle.
“We had ground engineers out at the site along with military personnel to get the dimensions and prep the aircraft for transport,” explained Larry Asher, the director of aviation for DynCorp International, and Hernando Beach, Fla., native.
Asher added that the 495th CSSB’s planning process behind the recovery operation was as critical as the mission itself as there was minimal time to prepare and execute.
“Overall, I feel that even with the short notice, we were successful with the recovery of the aircraft and that the mission went a lot smoother than expected,” said Sgt. David Andrade, a motor transport operator with the 1487th Transportation Co., and native of El Paso, Texas, who assisted with the recovery.
Andrade said that he appreciated the gratitude his leadership and DynCorp extended to him and his team.
“For a bad situation it had very positive results,” said Asher. “Nobody got hurt, the crew was safe and the aircraft got recovered. It was a pleasure working with the 495th CSSB, they were truly outstanding, the mission planning went extremely well and they were a great unit to work with.”