C000242

Afghanistan shaped, antique brass colored coin 2-3/4 inches iwide x 1-3/4 inches high.

SIDE 1 -

SIDE 2

Coin Number 303 Located in Savannah, Hunter Army Airfield houses Company F, 131st Aviation Regt (Georgia ANG).

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Jan. 21, 2005) - Near the flight line at Kandahar Air Field, the main operating base for Afghanistan's Southeast region, Capt. David Crenshaw, executive and maintenance officer for Company F, 131st Aviation Battalion, observes mechanics repairing a leaky starter in the engine of one of fourteen CH-47 helicopters his unit flies and maintains.

Across the airfield the late-afternoon sun bathes the battered hangar that houses Co. F in a golden glow. Large pieces of the hangar's outer skin are missing. The remaining sheet metal is pockmarked with bullet holes - signs of the intense fighting that took place in 2002 between coalition and Taliban forces.

The CH-47s, known better as Chinooks by Soldiers, are powerful, double-rotored machines capable of carrying 25,000 lb. loads of equipment and troops into combat. It is not uncommon to see these birds hoisting a humvee or generator sling-loaded underneath the chopper for transport to the field.