Since 2001 the US Air Force installation at Manas has been providing sterling service to the efforts to keep aircraft refuelled and available to support troops on the ground in Afghanistan. The tankers are real unsung heroes, with crews often putting in long hours. THE TRANSIT CENTER at Manas International Airport near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, is home to the USAF's 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. Two squadrons are assigned, the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (22nd EARS) operating the KC-135R/T, and the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron - Detachment 1 (817th EAS Det 1) flying the C-17 Globemaster III. The premier mission for the 376th AEW is the supply of air refuelling tankers over Afghanistan for coalition forces, but, with the centre handling 55,000 troops and 11 million pounds of cargo a month, Manas has come to be regarded as the International Security Assistance Force's (ISAF) 'gateway to Afghanistan'.
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