U.S. Airmen deliver aid to Chad

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Phillip Ulmer
  • 435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
FAYA-LARGEAU AIRPORT, Chad (AFPN) --  Answering an urgent request for assistance, units from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, responded with two C-130 Hercules aircraft in support of a European Command mission to deliver more than 19 tons of aid March 13 to Chad.

The call for aid came after the Chadian army engaged in a heavy battle with a group of terrorists between the cities of Zouarke and Wour, about 370 miles north of here, according to Chad officials

“Usually it takes about two days to plan a mission like this, but we were airborne within an hour of being notified of the mission,” said Capt. Jeff Menasco, a 37th Airlift Squadron instructor pilot and mission commander.

More than 10 hours after takeoff, the 86th Airlift Wing aircraft landed on the 7,700-foot runway of the one-building airport just outside of Faya-Largeau. More than 36 armed Chadians, ready to help download the aircraft, greeted the crews.

With no heavy equipment in sight to unload the aircraft, the crew opted to “combat offload” the nine pallets of food, blankets and medical supplies.

“When there’s no equipment available, the combat offload is the quickest way for us to download the aircraft,” said Master Sgt. Larry Lambert, a 37th AS chief evaluator loadmaster.

A combat offload consists of opening the back of the aircraft and releasing the pallet of cargo from its locks. The loadmasters position and steady the pallet. From here, the pilot stomps on the brakes and throttles up the engines. When the engines reach full speed, the pilot releases the brakes. As the aircraft lunges forward, the pallets slip off the back of the aircraft.

While the aircrew took care of getting the humanitarian aid off of the aircraft, 86th Contingency Response Group troops from Ramstein AB handled security at the airfield where the aid was being delivered.

“Our job is to provide security for Air Force resources and people at locations that aren’t secure, so the crew can focus on their job,” said 1st Lt. Mike Jewell, the 786th Security Forces Squadron Raven Team leader.

The team did not encounter any problems, but were constantly on the look out for hostile or suspicious activities, Lieutenant Jewell said.

Four 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron flying crew chiefs traveled on the mission in case there were any maintenance problems along the way.

“If the plane’s not flying, there is no mission,” said Staff Sgt. Jason McKee, a 37th Aircraft Maintenance Unit flying crew chief. “We make sure the C-130s stay airworthy when we’re on the road. If something breaks while we’re away from Ramstein, we can fix it. We don’t want to be on the ground any longer than we need to be in a place like this.”

After the cargo was delivered and the aircraft safely back in the air, the crew focused on returning back home.

“Our squadron and wing tactics planning cells did an incredible job to give us the tools we needed for this reactive mission,” said Captain Menasco. “I have to credit the professionalism, experience and competency of the entire crew for the safe completion of this extremely challenging mission. It’s the crew who made this mission happen.” (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe)