777th EAS/EAMU own the night

Airmen of the 777th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit prepare a C-130 Hercules for a night mission Oct. 19, 2010, Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Even with Operation New Dawn, dusk and night missions are the norm with servicemembers of JBB. C-130s primarily perform the tactical portion of the airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phillip Butterfield)

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777th EAS/EAMU own the night

Airman 1st Class Alex Morris, 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron flight engineer, checks the engines during a pre-flight start up Oct. 19, 2010, Joint Base Balad, Iraq. C-130s start the engines on the right wing first due to the aircrafts-wiring configuration. Airman Morris is deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phillip Butterfield)

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777th EAS/EAMU own the night

Senior Airman Ryan Berry, 777th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief, marshals a C-130 Hercules from its parking spot for a mission Oct. 19, 2010, Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Airmen marshal aircraft from their parking spots to ensure the aircraft doesn’t collide with equipment on the flightline that the pilot can’t see from the cockpit. Airman Berry is a native of Astoria, Ore. deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Phillip Butterfield)

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777th EAS/EAMU own the night

Published Oct. 25, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, said, "Whether outwardly or inwardly, whether in space or time, the farther we penetrate the unknown, the vaster and more marvelous it becomes."

The same can be said about the aviators and the Airmen of the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and the 777th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit, deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark, who brave all weather conditions and missions to defend the U.S. and assist its Iraqi allies.

The 777th EAS or "Triple 7 Dueling Dragons" is the largest forward-deployed airlift squadron in Operation New Dawn. Comprised of more than 100 Airmen and a fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft, the 777 EAS has five primary missions: hub-and-spoke air-land missions, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation, distinguished visitor airlift and communications, and command and control for Joint Airborne Battle Staff support to Coalition forces on the ground.