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CNN Live At Daybreak

The Planes Come At Night in Kandahar

Aired January 09, 2002 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to Afghanistan once again, it is mid-afternoon at the U.S. base near Kandahar, and in just a few hours, night will come to the dusty landscape. And with it, comes the constant rumble of huge cargo planes.

Our Bill Hemmer watches the action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Another brilliant sunset in the Afghan desert. Flags are lowered and soon it's nightfall, where there's no other time more active for the U.S. military.

A steady fleet of cargo planes, C-17s, C-130s, comes steaming to a stop. This is how the military is moving into Afghanistan, transporting tons of cargo under the shroud of darkness.

All aircraft fly without lights, the runway a black strip in the sand. The surrounding mountains here deemed too dangerous to approach with lumination.

The flurry of runway activity is a ballet of machinery in motion, all coordinated to unload, move and deliver supplies and personnel to an air base under construction.

Major Homer Wilkes is in charge of the controlled chaos.

MAJ. HOMER WILKES, U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, it's definitely not a one-man show, so there are a lot of people that are working very hard behind the scenes to make that controlled chaos work.

HEMMER: To date, half a million tons of cargo have been delivered. More than 1,000 sorties have made the trip into dusty Kandahar. No plane cuts its power, no pilot stays on the ground for more than 30 minutes.

Soon, the aircraft are leaving again. Another successful mission with their load left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colors!

HEMMER: Just before the flags are raised once again, before the sun rises on the other side of the Afghan desert.

Bill Hemmer, CNN, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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