Greetings from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan!

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Bryan Stone
  • 303 Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Commander
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan --  Greetings from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan! As the commander of the 303d Fighter Squadron, I have the great honor of leading a team of Airmen from Whiteman Air Force Base deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Daily, for close to13 years, the A-10 has been providing close air support to American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. I am extremely proud our squadron's performance thus far, and look forward to the finish line ahead.

A Hawg flight of two A-10Cs departing from Bagram is not as simple as it sounds. There is an enormous team of professionals behind every launch invested in that mission's success.

Every individual on this installation plays a role in delivering American military might to the battlefield. Every warrior from a weapons loader to an intelligence analyst to a soldier providing force protection contributes directly to the mission.

It is invaluable to be able to focus every Airman toward an objective. It is a unique perspective, and frankly, one I may not have fully appreciated before this deployment.

We are nearing two-thirds of the way through our mobilization. Thus far, the 442d Fighter Wing team has executed the Air Tasking Order seven days a week, 24 hours a day, without missing a single sortie. Through four months, with maintenance production and operations execution, we have flown more than 1,450 sorties and 5,500 hours of close air support and armed overwatch of our ground personnel in Afghanistan. (To give you perspective we generally fly 6,000 hours/year stateside.)

The 303d EFS has supported more than 580 Joint Tactical Air Requests and 250 Troops in Contact situations. Kinetically, A-10s have delivered 26,000 pounds of ordnance and 25,000 rounds of 30 mm on target.

Our pilots have flawlessly saved countless coalition lives and created space for freedom of movement of partnered patrols on the ground.

In the military, we often quantify sacrifice as personal loss for service gain. What is often overlooked from this metric is the burden that our deployed members' families endure so the member can serve. To detach a loved one from a family unit for six months will no doubt have an impact.

To our loved ones at home....thank you for your sacrifice.

To the 44nd FW stateside, please continue to support our families' contribution to the mission.

All of us are grateful to have each other downrange. Some of the worst stories become the best memories when we are far away from the brown dust and hostile environment. We will always be tied together through living history; providing the Afghans with two opportunities to elect a president, supporting economic growth, and providing stability to a region that has never really known it.

Thank you for your support and we look forward to Fall in Missouri!