ROCK SOLID WARRIOR Published June 29, 2009 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Senior Airman Steven Calaway Job: C-130 Loadmaster Home unit: 39th Airlift Squadron, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas How do you support the mission here? We support the mission here by flying missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. We carry passengers and supplies throughout the AOR, whether it be taking them into the fight, or bringing them here for R&R. We also perform airdrop missions to help support our troops on the ground. How many times have you deployed and what makes this one unique? This is my third time here. This deployment is unique because I'm breaking in a relatively new crew. It's kind of funny having a senior airman as one of the more experienced guys on the crew; but that's how we roll in the Herk world. How does your job differ in a deployed environment vs. home base? We rotate in and out of here every four months, so when we go back to home station we pretty much get our post mission crew rest and then knock out all of our airdrop currencies before we start getting ready to head back out the door for the next deployment. We practice dropping heavy equipment like humvees and fire trucks; Container Delivery System containers with whatever the Army can stuff in a cardboard box; and paratroopers by the literal plane-load. Back here we do airland missions up to the box and back; hauling a lot of troops into just about every field in Iraq to keep them off IED-covered roads.