Security forces airman coordinates air ops for Iraqi detainees

Published April 14, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Tim Beckham
U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- There are thousands of Iraqi detainees located in different detention facilities throughout Iraq who require air travel for everything from detainee transfers to attending court cases, and thanks to one Air Force captain, the Iraqi detainees get where they need to go.

Capt. M. Kathryn Kotora, Joint Task Force 134 J3 Future Ops Air officer, provides the necessary coordination of all air travel for detainees coming and going throughout Iraq.

"All detainees must first be taken to Camp Cropper, where they are put in the detainee system before being taken to the detention facility where they will be held," she said. "That's where I come in ... they (detainees) need air travel to and from the facilities to attend their court hearings, to be transferred to different facilities and for general release."

As a security forces officer from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Captain Kotora said this deployment has been unique because she has been doing work more suited for an operations officer or logistician.

"It has been a challenge but it's like anything else, once you get the hang of something, it becomes second nature," she said. "I have really learned a lot about how the Air Force works as a whole."

During her tenure here, the Auburn, Wash., native has coordinated more than 250 air missions to include 48 detainee flights transferring more than 17,000 detainees to and from Camp Cropper.

"It's a great feeling knowing I have played an important part in the detainee operations here," she said. "Hopefully our hard work will pay off when the Iraqis eventually take over this mission."

Not only does Captain Kotora arrange flights for the detainees but she also ensures there are routine rotary flights for the servicemembers deploying and redeploying from the detention facilities.

"The guards and the other people working at these facilities are doing such a great job in a highly demanding role that when they get the chance to go home or get some down time, it's very important to me to coordinate air travel as quickly as possible," she said.

The detainee operation mission is a joint effort between all the U.S. services and Department of Defense contractors as well as members from the Iraqi military, and according to Captain Kotora, that is what has made this deployment worthwhile for her.

"That is what I will remember the most from the deployment, the people I got to work with," she said. "I have never worked with the other services for any long period of time and getting that chance has been awesome. When I first got here I thought it was going to be difficult, but once you realize that everyone is on the same team, trying to complete the same mission, you start to understand the true meaning of teamwork."