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Balad airlifters complete 25,000th combat sortie

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Don Branum
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  The 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here marked a unit milestone Sept. 3 by completing its 25,000th combat sortie since beginning operations at Joint Base Balad in February 2006.

The 777th EAS' Airmen and their fleet of C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft have carried approximately 210,000 passengers and more than 98 million pounds of cargo in 31 months, eliminating the need for more than 11,000 convoy vehicles to traverse roads still fraught with improvised explosive devices and other dangers.

"Getting convoys off the road is our job," said Capt. Fray Doyle, who was the co-pilot for the historic mission. "That's why we're here -- to reduce the convoy traffic and get buses and trucks off the road."

A one-week snapshot of 777th EAS operations captures the squadron's pivotal role in ensuring Iraqi and coalition forces have the equipment and personnel they need. From Aug. 22 to 28, the squadron flew 182 sorties, carrying more than 2,000 passengers and 301 tons of cargo. Using the ratio of 40 passengers to a bus and 8 tons of cargo to a truck, the 777th EAS kept 51 buses and 38 trucks off the roads that week.

One passenger, Army Master Sgt. C.J. Weasner, said she appreciated the Air Force's efforts.

"This being the 25,000th combat mission without incident is a testament to the dedication, training and equipment superiority that the Armed Forces bring to the fight," said Weasner, a National Guard Soldier deployed from the 371st Sustainment Brigade in Kettering, Ohio, and a native of nearby Columbus.

The sortie was routine in most ways: ferry cargo and passengers between Baghdad International Airport and Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province. The cargo comprised 32 tons of portable generators, a fuel container and other equipment destined for Al Asad. Managing both the cargo and passengers were the flight's loadmasters, Airman 1st Class Delmar Karnes and Tech. Sgt. Ray Sallard.

"It feels pretty good to be part of something like this," said Sallard, who is deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., along with the rest of the aircrew. "We're getting beans and bullets where they need to be (and) getting generators where they're needed. I feel like part of the larger mission."

There's no such thing as flying first-class on a C-130. The engines are loud -- even with hearing protection -- and the interior of the plane can become as much as 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature when the aircraft is parked. Flying as a passenger can take some getting used to because passengers sit facing the sides of the plane rather than the front. And the presence of anti-Iraqi forces on the ground means pilots must always be ready to execute defensive maneuvers. But despite the discomfort, flying in Iraq is statistically the safest way to travel.

"It's still an active environment, threat-wise," Doyle said, "but we'll get the personnel and cargo to their destinations safely. And we'll do it as quickly and efficiently as possible."

And the 777th EAS' aircrews can move cargo to almost any location in the country.

"We're pretty much the go-to folks," said Doyle, a native of Union City, Tenn. "Whenever something needs to be moved within Iraq, we carry it. We go to the places no one else can go -- we'll go to al-Sulaymaniyah; we'll go to (Contingency Operating Base) Q-West; we'll go to Tal Afar; we'll go to Ali. If we can land there, we'll go there."

The 777th EAS is the only Air Force mobility unit within Iraq, said Capt. Sara Kershaw, the mission's pilot. Other units' missions primarily involve carrying cargo into Iraq via Balad or Baghdad International.

"Sure, we have the C-5 (Galaxys) and C-17 (Globemaster IIIs) that come in and out of Southwest Asia and Ramstein Air Base, Germany," Doyle said, "but when the Air Mobility Division needs to get something moved from one place in Iraq to another, they call the Triple 7 because they know our track record."

Reaching 25,000 combat sorties shows a commitment from many people toward a common purpose, Doyle said.

"It's not just us specifically, but everybody back home and Air National Guard units out of Cheyenne, Wyo. -- all the time they've put in," he said. "We know what our mission is, and we do it every day -- we don't take days off; we don't get holidays; there're no down days. We go out there and we knock it out."