728th cuts ribbon on cargo yard

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tim Beckham
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Today, Team Incirlik members gathered together at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the 728th Air Mobility Squadron's new cargo yard, which will be used to provide more maneuvering space, as well as, doubling existing pallet yard capacity.

Not only does the new cargo yard provide more space, 158,000 square feet to be exact, but it also generates a safer working environment and strengthens Turkish/American relations.

"(The cargo yard) provides safer operations by moving existing cargo handling operations away from the flight line and enhances the coordination with our Turkish host-nation mission partner," said Lt. Col. Joseph Angel, 728th AMS commander.

Colonel Angel said the cargo yard will not only make the job easier for people here, but it will also help troops downrange.

"Currently, over 50 percent of all sustainment cargo moved by air into Iraq is transloaded at Incirlik," he said. "This new cargo yard will improve efficiency of today's cargo hub mission and provide a tremendous stride in focused sustainment capability for the future."

The new yard is not only safer for the Airmen using it, but also for the aircraft parked on the flight line.

"In addition, by moving the cargo handling operations away from the current flight line location, we make the cargo handling process safer and reduce the hazard of foreign object debris on aircraft movement surfaces," said the colonel. "Finally, this yard provides transparent and seamless visibility on cargo hub operations for our Turkish mission partner and host wing while improving Air Mobility Command's through-put velocity."

The cargo yard is among the largest in U.S. Air Forces in Europe, and represents a significant investment in the Incirlik mission.

"Before this construction, the maximum capacity of the existing cargo yard was 260 pallets," said Colonel Angel. "The new cargo yard has a capacity of more than 500 pallets, providing double the capability."