ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) -- Air Force reservists on active duty in the United States and Europe have volunteered their varied skills to support peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia.
An average of about 100 reservists are on orders daily directly supporting Operation Joint Endeavor. Most of them are aircrew members, airlifting people and cargo to Europe. As of Jan. 9, Reserve volunteers flew 46 missions, including flights into Bosnia and Hungary. Reserve C-5s began airlifting people and cargo to Germany Dec. 7 in support of the effort.
In addition to C-5, C-17 and C-141 heavy airlift flights, Reserve KC-135 aircrews, who are able to perform both airlift and air refueling missions, are transporting priority parts from Dover Air Force Base, Del., to Germany to ensure troops in Bosnia have the material they need. Reservists started flying these Joint Endeavor Express missions Dec. 27.
The Reserve also has aircraft maintainers and chaplains directly supporting Joint Endeavor.
Nearly 40 individual mobilization augmentees are backfilling deployed active-duty people or augmenting them. Most of these reservists are working at Scott AFB, Ill., and MacDill AFB, Fla. They range in rank from staff sergeant to colonel with skills that include aircraft, intelligence, medical, transportation, personnel, communications, and command and control operations.
Thirty-nine aeromedical evacuation personnel from Kelly AFB, Texas, and MacDill AFB are deployed to Europe for 179 days. Most of them are in Hungary, and a handful are in Germany.
In addition, more than 200 reservists from the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke AFB, Ariz., are on two-week annual tour at Aviano Air Base, Italy, to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia. These F-16 fighter pilots, aircraft maintainers and support people are part of the NATO effort. Reservists from the 301st FW, an F-16 unit from Carswell Air Reserve Station, Texas, are slated to start deploying to Italy in late January.
Four Reserve pilots from the 442nd FW, Whiteman AFB, Mo., and 917th Wing, Barksdale AFB, La., went to Italy Jan. 6 to fly Air National Guard A-10 fighters already in country. Both Reserve units will also begin deploying pilots, support people and fighter aircraft to Aviano in March to enforce the no-fly zone.
Aircraft maintainers from McGuire AFB, N.J., and Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass.; medical personnel from Westover; and civil engineers from Charleston AFB, S.C., are also performing annual tours in Europe. According to Headquarters AFRES officials, these reservists are not directly involved in Joint Endeavor. (Courtesy of AFRES News Service)