Ocnus.Net
French Air Detachment in Dushanbe
By David Trilling, Jamestown Eurasia Net 18/5/09
May 22, 2009 - 1:01:39 PM
Dushanbe’s ramshackle airport is the only facility in the world that is
hosting NATO and Russian troops simultaneously. Both unassuming
military outposts outside the capital of Tajikistan share the same
single airstrip and sit quietly at the same end of the airfield.
Since 2002, France’s Air Detachment Dushanbe has been home to between
170 and 230 French soldiers, who handle transit logistics, supply drops
and airlift support on behalf of NATO troops deployed in Afghanistan,
an hour’s flight to the south. Two Transall C-160s cargo planes form
the backbone of the French operation in Dushanbe, while other NATO
countries regularly use the facility as a way station for Afghanistan
operations. In 2007, French President Nicolas Sarkozy ordered the
repositioning of six Mirage fighter jets from Dushanbe to Kandahar so
that they would be positioned closer to where anti-insurgency
operations are conducted.
Col. Stephane Samaran, defense attaché at the French Embassy in
Dushanbe, refers to the contingent as "small, but beautiful in the way
the French military operates around the world." Compared with the
sprawling American air base at Manas Airport outside of Bishkek, the
facility is tiny, inhabiting only 250 by 50 meters of tarmac. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
France uses the space free of charge thanks to a bilateral cooperation
agreement. As a goodwill gesture, French army engineers have been busy
resurfacing the runway, taxiways and other areas of the facility. In
addition, Paris just granted Dushanbe a long-term, low interest 20
million euro loan to fund the 27 million euro construction of a new
terminal, to be operational by September 9, 2011, the day marking the
20th anniversary of Tajikistan’s independence.
Only allowed to disclose his first name due to security reasons, Maj.
Oliver, an army engineer responsible for the resurfacing, says the
project will bring Dushanbe’s airport up to international air traffic
standards. "Before, the airport was unable to receive some planes due
to the width of the airstrip and taxiway," he says. Sophisticated
equipment, flown in from France, uses lasers to ensure topographic
precision.
Describing the daily routine, the detachment’s commander, Lt. Col.
Marc, says the two planes and emergency generators use 400 tons of fuel
per month, all locally procured. The facility employs 70 Tajik
personnel.
Though French service members live in apartments in the center of
Dushanbe, the facility includes tents for soldiers transiting to and
from Afghanistan. "Last year, during [2008’s record breaking winter]
cold crisis, it was much more comfortable to spend nights here in the
tents than in houses in downtown Dushanbe," noted Marc. "During the
winter we have an [independently functioning] heating system and,
during the summer, air conditioning."
The two C-160s based in Dushanbe fly regular sorties to drop supplies.
Aircrews have the most stressful job of anyone in the detachment, says
Samaran, gesturing at a team loading anti-aircraft deflective flares
and chaf onto the tactical aircraft. To keep them fresh, aircrews
rotate every two months; other airmen and soldiers supporting the
mission rotate home after four months.
Despite speculation last winter that Dushanbe airport could replace
Manas in Kyrgyzstan as a staging ground for refueling missions in
support of US operations in Afghanistan, Samaran dismisses those
suggestions on a technicality: Dushanbe is surrounded on all sides by
mountains that tankers full of fuel would struggle to clear. [For
background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The mission can be demanding, but the French soldiers and airmen based
in Dushanbe feel fortunate, Samaran said, as they know that conditions
are far more dangerous and stressful only an hour to the south. When
troops return from an Afghan mission, "they can relax because they know
they are on the territory of a friendly state," Samaran said.
Source: Ocnus.net 2009