It’s a dull day. The sky, the tarmac and the aircraft all merge into gray. Only the driving wet snow adds a little shine to the picture.

Business as usual at Manas. 24/7, rain or shine, those flying petrol stations must keep circling, and those soldiers must keep coming and going. Afghanistan is a hungry beast to feed.

Engineers and technicians, pilots and ground crew mingle on the runway, exchange jokes, talk about what they had for breakfast, their favorite flavor of Gatorade.

Beyond the control tower, their facilities are impeccably laid out – a village, replete with cinemas, bars, gyms and basketball courts. But there are few permanent structures.

The note of dismissal handed to their Embassy gives the Americans 180 days to pack their bags. Plenty of time to keep the operation rolling while they look for another venue.

The base’s commanding officer talks about the partnerships that have been developed over the years, the money donated by airforce personnel out of their own pockets towards local schools. They can live without Manas, he says, but it’ll be a shame to lose it.

Whatever the Americans tell you, establishing an alternative somewhere else is going to give them a headache.

Consider the figures: Last year some 3,294 flights delivered fuel to 11,419 aircraft over the skies of Afghanistan. Over 170,000 personnel were flown in and out of the conflict zone, and 5000 tons of cargo were processed. All via Manas.

But it’s the locals who’re employed here who perhaps stand to lose the most. One canteen worker is worried it won’t be so easy to find work elsewhere. Another contractor, a mechanic called Boris, says he’ll be upset because his work is well-paid.

“But with my skills I’ll find another job. What I’ll miss is the efficiency, how the Americans organize their workforce. I’ve never seen such a well-oiled machine”.

Back on the runway, three busloads of human cargo are filling up a C-17 aircraft. They’re on their way to war. There’s a poignancy to their actions, as they arrange their equipment and obediently buckle up.

No Manas to them means no R&R. No pool-hall or movie-theater to relax with after their tour is through. If President Kurmanbek Bakiev really intends to go through with this expulsion, another base with another name will provide it, probably. But politics is not their concern. They just hope to return safe.