EURASIA INSIGHT
David Trilling
2/06/09
At this stage, only confusion surrounds the fate of the US air base in Kyrgyzstan. Government officials, MPs and opposition politicians keep producing a cascade of contradictory statements. Amid the uncertainty, operations at the base are continuing, and US personnel there are striving to maintain a sense of normalcy.
The parliament is not scheduled to debate a base closure bill until mid-February. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. But that fact didn’t hinder a top government official, National Security Council chief Adakhan Madumarov, from proclaiming the move to evict American forces from Manas as irreversible. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Madumarov, speaking at a February 6 news conference, said that securing parliamentary approval for the measure would not be a problem, given that an overwhelming majority of MPs belong to the pro-presidential Ak Zhol Party.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced February 3 the government’s intent to close Manas, outside of Bishkek, during a visit to Russia. The announcement came after Russia offered $2.15 billion in aid, leading many observers to believe that the Kremlin purchased the Bakiyev administration’s loyalty. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
As the drama plays out in Bishkek, officials at the base, located in a suburb of the capital, say operations are continuing as usual.
Only an hour’s flight time north of the Afghan border, last year over 170,000 coalition soldiers passed through Manas en route to Operation Enduring Freedom there. Many spend only a day or two housed in transient facilities. "Virtually all of the people who go on the ground in Afghanistan come through here," said Colonel James Pfaff, Vice Commander at the base.
Manas, which first opened in December 2001, is also home to a squadron of American and French refueling tankers. In 2008, the base supported 3,294 refueling missions for 11,419 fighter aircraft over Afghanistan, disbursing 194,000,000 pounds of fuel.
The reason is strategic. "We’re the closest," said Kevin Soltis, Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at Manas.
Over 1,000 NATO personnel living at the base support the transiting service members and refueling missions. No attack missions originate out of Manas.
Pfaff described the importance of the tanker missions. "Air refueling gives [a fighter jet] longer legs," he said. And if a plane needs to quickly move into another position, "a tanker helps him do all that."
It’s a constant effort. "There’s an airplane up most of the day . . . just to have a gas station available," Pfaff added.
The refueling missions save lives in Afghanistan, both civilian and coalition, adds Chief Soltis. "A lot of what we do, that persistence in the sky, doesn’t have to be shooting bullets or dropping bombs," he said. Having aircraft circling keeps insurgents hiding. "If we can just have that fighter aircraft showing presence - showing force we call it - it allows free movement for allies and keeps the bad guys from doing bad things to good people."
Though the equipment is sophisticated, refueling takes more than technical skill. Staff Sergeant Joseph Blakley, a boom operator, describes lying on his stomach in the tail of a KC-135. From his small window, using light signals, mirrors and radio calls, he guides the fighter jet pilots in for a top-up. "Sometimes I can look into the cockpit of an F-16 and see the pilot is drinking a coke," he described. Blakley’s job requires him to keep his cool and, at times, even counsel fighter pilots stressed in the midst of battle.
Originally named Ganci Air Base, after New York Fire Department chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., who was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks, it was later officially called Manas, after the adjacent airport with which it shares a four-kilometer-long runway. Compared with American outposts in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, the pace is relatively relaxed at Manas. Few airmen carry weapons and they are allowed to enjoy two alcoholic drinks per evening, unlike their dry counterparts elsewhere in the theater of operations.
The landing fees, local service contracts and rent for the facilities contributed over $64 million to the local economy in 2008, Manas officials estimate. The 550 local staff employed at the base earn, on average, three times the standard wage in Kyrgyzstan. While the Kyrgyz government dithers on Manas’ future, 550 breadwinners are wondering if they will soon join the legions of Kyrgyzstan’s unemployed.
Editor's Note: David Trilling is the Central Asia Coordinator for EurasiaNet.
