445th LRS officer leads aerial port team while deployed

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  A captain from the 445th Logistics Readiness Officer, currently assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, has been leading his team to success during his current deployment at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

Capt. Rob Wengerter is currently the flight commander for the Air Terminal Operations Center, leading 74 Airmen in one of the largest flights in the ELRS. His team is responsible for moving all cargo and passengers on all military aircraft they receive.

"Each month, we airlift more 17,000 tons of cargo. In March, we set a Kandahar record by surpassing our mark of the number of passengers we typically airlift," Captain Wengerter said.

A new airfield passenger terminal on Kandahar Airfield was completed May 20. The captain's team relocated their outbound airfield passenger terminal to the new facility, increasing their passenger capability by 59%.

"I spearheaded the U.S. piece of it and think I'm part architect, engineer and project manager now. It's a cleaner, brighter, cooler and safer passenger terminal than what we had previously in the Taliban's Last Stand," Captain Wengerter said.

The captain's team has also been involved in airdrops of Container Delivery System bundles across Afghanistan, supporting 40,000 troops on the ground in need of equipment and supplies.

The captain credits his team for the hard work and success his unit has been involved in.

"I truly have an amazing crew here that I'm proud to be part of. Great credit goes to my Airmen who work tirelessly, day in and day out, in all weather conditions ... 100-plus degree heat, sandstorms and even rocket attacks," the captain said.

"I'm proud to be part of the fight and doing my best to represent the 445th well," Captain Wengerter added.