Misawa mentor makes munitions mission a success

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Christopher DeWitt
  • RC North Public Affairs Advisory Team Mentor
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan --  One Airman is single-handedly responsible for millions of dollars worth of munitions sitting in bunkers at northern Afghanistan's only ammunition supply point.

Tech. Sgt. Wayne Zuiderhof, the assistance NCO in charge of precision guided munitions deployed from the 35th Maintenance Squadron, Misawa Air Base, Japan, serves as a munitions platoon mentor while in Afghanistan. He is in charge of training Afghan National Army soldiers at ANA Camp Shaheen's 4th Field Support Depot on proper techniques and procedures for storage, safety, and issue of ammunition.

A total of five FSDs supply all of Afghanistan with ammunition for both training and operational missions with Zuiderhof as the most junior of all the mentors in country, who is sometimes forced to make life-changing determinations for soldiers supporting missions in the increasingly violent northern provinces.

"I'm honored that they let me do this," said Zuiderhof adding that senior non-commissioned officers lead the other FSDs in country. "I have had to help make some important decisions on mission ammo in support of operations in the Kunduz Province. At one point, there was a problem with the paperwork for a mission ammo request, if we stopped the issue, lives could have been lost."

In addition to the main ASP, Zuiderhof is also responsible for tracking three remote storage points across the northern region.

"I've had to schedule convoys to visit all the ASPs in order to identify and inventory the items at each location and have since identified 3,200 metric tons of legacy ammunition," Zuiderhof said referring to munitions either collected from Taliban caches or left over from the Russian occupation. "I was able to coordinate approval at one site to retrieve the serviceable items and destroy the remaining, unsafe ammunition, which will prevent possible injuries to soldiers."

A typical day for the sergeant starts with the Afghan tradition of conversations about family and life over chai with two of the 13 soldiers that the Arlington, S.D., native mentors on a one-on-one basis. Forced to use an interpreter for daily conversations and conveying important advice about munitions handling, Zuiderhof is faced with numerous challenges while mentoring alone on the ANA base.

"First and foremost, the language barrier is a problem that we can't get beyond," the 1998 Arlington High School graduate said including that the problem can be overcome with patience, thanks to his interpreter. "Another issue is trying to defeat years of doing tasks one way and getting them to accept other possibilities.

"An example is the forklift, at first they did not want to use it, they thought it was a waste of time - too much work, too much effort. Once they started using it, they learned how much easier it was," the sergeant said shortly before FSD soldiers used a forklift while issuing more than 34,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition for the first time in support of ongoing missions in Kunduz Province.

During his time at Camp Mike Spann, Zuiderhof has had many accomplishments including: facilitating a "loan" of 190,000 rounds to 10th Mountain soldiers when their own logistics were delayed, initiating processes to issue ammo from a central location, developing pre-task safety briefings, and even designing an ammunition mentor coin, as well as, numerous other achievements.

"Personally rewarding to me is a simple task like filling out paperwork and talking about it day in and day out and then one day they do it without you asking, or if you're not around and they show you that they've done the paperwork," Zuiderhof, or 'Sgt. Z' as he is also known, said about his ability to provoke changes in the 4th FSD. "It's just amazing that they take what they've been taught and want to use it."

The sergeant's efforts do not go unrecognized, especially by the one Afghan who spends the most direct time with the mentor.

"We've had lots of mentors who have come and assisted us but none of them helped us like 'Sgt. Z' - he's a great guy," said ANA Sgt. 1st Class Ahmad Sha, 209th Corps 4th FSD munitions property book officer. "He's helped us by bringing a forklift, completing a very exact inventory, and preventing customers into the storage area - he's solved many problems for us."

Working with munitions ranging from rifle rounds to highly explosive mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, 'Sgt. Z' advice to supply point personnel conveys the seriousness of the grave dangers faced while supporting war-fighting soldiers helping to secure a safe and peaceful Afghanistan.

"What we do out here is important and dangerous, if you do not take care of the ammunition there might be a dangerous accident," Sha said. "What we do affects other units - we issue ammo day or night for fighting or enemy engagement."

U.S. and coalition mentors like Zuiderhof are helping the fledgling Afghan Army to become self-sustaining, capable of securing and defending Afghanistan's independence.

"Everyday is a new day - it's an adventure," 'Sgt. Z' proudly said of his time mentoring ANA soldiers. Of his experiences along the way, he simply added, "You can't make this stuff up."