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Sather Airmen Clear Away The Debris of War, Improve Airport Safety

By Master Sgt. Brian Davidson

U.S. and coalition forces began the fight to free Iraq from tyranny and oppression on March 19, 2003. On April 4th, the Army's 3rd Infantry Division took control of Saddam International Airport, and later that month the 447th Air Expeditionary Group was activated at the re-named Baghdad International Airport in support of combat operations.

Today, more than five years after the "Butcher of Baghdad" was driven from power, Baghdad International Airport is the busiest airfield in Iraq, supporting countless military and civilian aircraft of all shapes and sizes.

Airlift operations are an integral part of Iraq's military and economic future, and the men and women of the 447th AEG, working along-side the Iraqi military and civilian contractors, are developing it into a modern aerial hub that will be a driving force in building a free and independent country.

As part of that development, projects aimed at cleaning up the "debris of war" are becoming increasingly important.
In 2003, while Soldiers from the 3rd ID were securing the airfield in Baghdad, Thomas Burns was a sophomore at Wilson High School in Spencerport, N.Y. He joined the Air Force in August 2006, and trained as an Airfield Management Journeyman. Today, Airman 1st Class Thomas Burns is serving on his first deployment to Iraq, and is an airfield management operations coordinator assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron at Sather Air Base, on the west side of Baghdad airport.

One of Airman Burns' responsibilities is to wade-through more than 1,800 waivers for obstructions throughout the airfield, both big and small. These obstructions are remnants of both poor airfield management from long before Operation Iraqi Freedom began as well as debris left over from the fierce battle that ensued when coalition forces clashed with Saddam loyalists battling to keep control of the airport.

These obstructions impact the safe and effective movement of aircraft, and in order to reduce that impact Airman Burns has made it his personal mission to find and remove them. It was that drive to leave the airfield better than he found it that led him to make a discovery that no one ever expected possible.

According to airfield management logs dated Oct. 10 at 4:04 p.m. Airmen Burns reported his unusual discovery.

That Friday afternoon, while driving an all terrain vehicle through the vast, open area called the "infield" that stretches between the runway and taxiway, Airman Burns was picking his way through uneven ground, weeds and brush while looking for obstructions and debris. Whenever possible, he removed the items himself, until he noticed a strange sink hole-type depression in a large area not far from the center-line of the runway.

"Something just didn't look right, and I saw that the ground was higher in places, and had eroded away in others," Airman Burns explained. "There were holes that looked like there was some sort of tank or something under the ground, and when I started kicking soil away, that's exactly what I found; a tank-just not the kind I was expecting."

Airman Burns first unearthed a tread, and realized the tank was upside down. He immediately headed back to the Airfield Operations office to report what he had found. "Okay, so having battle damaged tanks in a combat zone might not be a big surprise, but finding one buried in the middle of the airfield was just not something I expected. When I reported it, everyone thought I was pulling some sort of joke," he said. "Everyone I told just had to go out to the infield and take a look for themselves, and each person said the same thing; 'wow! You found a tank!'"

Once it was determined that there was in fact a tank buried on the airfield, senior leaders began the process of deciding exactly what to do about it. It was impossible to tell exactly what kind of tank they were dealing with, how it had ended up buried where it was or what kinds of safety issues might be involved, but it was apparent that ignoring the problem was not going to make it go away.

Col. David Pavey, 447th AEG commander, realized right away that the tank had to go, and made accomplishing the task safely his first priority. The infield is an area that needs to be relatively smooth and free of obstructions in case an aircraft ever has to leave the paved surfaces, he explained.

Once the decision was made that the tank posed a potential threat to airport operations, engineers, explosives experts and emergency management specialists came together to come up with a plan.

"This is where having some of our outstanding Air National Guard heavy equipment operators has been so helpful," Col Pavey said. "Several of these Citizen Airmen have more than 20 years experience with these 'dozers, cranes and other heavy earth movers, and they came up with some creative and effective methods to clear the tank from the airfield with safety their first concern as it is mine."

Less than four weeks after its discovery, and after it was determined that the tank site did not pose an immediate nuclear, biological or chemical threat, a team of engineers with earth moving equipment converged on the site to begin the excavation.

With the skill of a surgeon, Tech. Sgt. James Simons, a heavy equipment operator with the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, used an excavator to clear away soil from above and around the tank. With more than 23 years as a heavy equipment operator , including 15 years in a Navy Construction Battalion, eight years in the New York Air National Guard as an engineer and his experience as a New York State Throughway Authority highway maintenance supervisor, Sergeant Simons was the top choice for the delicate project.

As Sergeant Simons removed one layer of soil at a time, inspections were made and tests conducted to ensure radiological, explosive and chemical threats were not present. In a short time, the tank's main gun turret was found detached from the main body a few feet away, and surprisingly close to the surface. Sergeant Simons used the excavator to pull the turret and gun out of the hole.

The project was expected to take up to three days to complete, but Sergeant Simons had the site cleared and the entire tank exposed before lunch time.

Once the details of the tank were visible, it was determined that it was an Iraqi T-72 main battle tank. It is of Soviet design, and the T-72 began production in 1972. It was exported to most Warsaw Pact countries, however the Iraqis assembled theirs from "spare parts" sold by the Russians as a means of evading the United Nations-imposed weapons embargo of the Cold War. This model of tank was known by the Iraqis as the "Lion of Babylon" and was built during the 1980s in a factory near Taji, just north of Baghdad.

The T-72 project represented an attempt by Saddam Hussein's regime to develop Iraqi tank production.

Once the T-72 was exposed, the U.S. Army's 503rd Maintenance Company was called-in to assist with removing it from the airfield. At 41 tons, the T-72 is smaller and lighter than western main battle tanks, but removing it from the hole and getting it onto a trailer proved to be the most difficult part of the project.

Using an M-88 tank recovery vehicle, a bulldozer and a crane, the T-72 was inched out of its resting place. Once out of the hole, Sergeant Simons used a bulldozer to flip the tank upright, surprising everyone when its massive diesel engine and transmission fell out as it rolled. When the tank rolled over and hit the ground, it caused a tremor that left by-standers wide-eyed.

Even with the turret and main gun removed, the tank tested the limits of every piece of equipment used to simultaneously push, lift and pull it up and onto a flatbed trailer. The main gun and turret were then hoisted back into place on the tank, and it was secured to the trailer.

Just as the last rays of daylight dipped behind the horizon, Sergeant Simons was pushing dirt into the T-72's now-vacated grave and smoothing the infield where the tank had been, leaving behind only the footprints and track marks as evidence that anything had happened there.

"Removing the decayed tank from the airport serves as a metaphor for our mission here," Col. Pavey explained. "Through the joint efforts of both the Iraqi government and the U.S. Air Force, we are returning Baghdad International Airport as a vital piece of Iraq's economy."

Col. Pavey went on to praise the efforts of the airfield operations team in improving mission capabilities for the airport and also explained that there was still much more to accomplish as Iraq progresses towards independence. "Tanks and other such implements of war have been found all over Iraq, but it's becoming rarer at Baghdad International Airport due to the dedication of great folks like Airman Burns," he said. "I imagine that this old airfield has one or two more surprises in store for us before we are finished."

For Airman Burns, the successful completion of the project simply means there is one less safety hazard on the airfield. He continues to look for obstructions to military and commercial aircraft around the runway and taxiways, wondering what strange thing he might find next. 'Well, an old Iraqi MiG-25 fighter jet would be nice," he said.