"Worth Getting Up In The Morning"
The C-130 Hercules has
routinely hauled more than one million troops and 76,000 tons of
cargo in and out of Iraq -- but a recent mission was anything but
routine.
On December 30, a C-130 from the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing
touched down in Southeast Asia carrying Baby Noor, her father and
grandmother on their way to the United States for medical
treatment.
Baby Noor was born with spina bifida and was given one month to
live by doctors in Iraq, said Maya Dietz, vice consul for the US
Embassy in Baghdad.
Georgia National Guardsmen found the baby during operations in
the Abu Gharib neighborhood of Baghdad. While the troops were
searching the house, the baby's grandmother took the infant to the
Soldiers and asked for their help, Ms. Dietz said.
The guardsmen contacted their congressional representatives and
formed an elaborate coalition of humanitarian assistance. A surgeon
in Atlanta offered his services free. The commercial flights to the
United States were donated by airlines and a non-profit
organization in Atlanta will pick up the additional costs for the
trip.
US Embassy officials met the family and took them to a local
civilian airport.
The C-130 crew on this mission was from Elmendorf Air Force
Base, AK -- and originally, December 30 was to have been their day
off.
"We weren't scheduled to fly, so to get alerted to fly something
like this is pretty darn satisfying," said co-pilot Capt. Raul
Ochoa of the 738th Expeditionary Air Squadron. "We've had the
opportunity to take part in a lot of missions but this is probably
the most rewarding."
The crew flew 71 troops and their gear into Iraq and flew Baby
Noor and her family out.
"We're just fortunate to be able to fly them out, it was an
honor," said pilot Capt. Craig Hinkley. "I've never done a
humanitarian mission quite like this."
"[This flight] makes it worth getting up in the morning," said
Flight engineer Tech. Sgt. Bill Thomas. "I was pretty excited to do
something this important."
US Embassy officials in Kuwait coordinated with the Kuwaiti
minister of interior to allow a smooth passage to the US.
While the story of Baby Noor now moves to the United States,
members of the aircrew won't soon forget the flight.
"[This was] one of the best missions I've ever done," said
loadmaster Tech. Sgt. Dave Rea. "It's not often we get to help
someone like that."
(Aero-News Salutes by Capt. Michael G. Johnson, 386th Air
Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs)