ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) -- Air Force reservists continued airlifting goods in support of Operation Joint Endeavor and enforcing the no-fly zone over Bosnia during the second week of January.
Some 260 unit reservists were on orders directly supporting Joint Endeavor. Most of them were C-5 or KC-135 aircrew members, airlifting people or critical goods to Europe. As of Jan. 16, the Reserve logged 53 missions in support of Joint Endeavor. It also has 39 aeromedical evacuation personnel on active duty for 179 days. Most of them are deployed to Hungary.
Another 39 reservists -- individual mobilization augmentees assigned to active-duty units -- volunteered for shorter tours and went on active duty, including three in Europe.
Two hundred reservists from the 944th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., deployed to Aviano Air Base, Italy, with 12 F-16 fighters to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia. When their two-week annual tour is up, other members of their unit or reservists from the 301st FW, Carswell Air Reserve Station, Texas, will take their place.
Reserve pilots from the 442nd FW, Whiteman AFB, Mo., and 917th Wing, Barksdale AFB, La., went to Italy to fly Air National Guard A-10s already in country. Both Reserve units will also begin deploying pilots, support people and A-10s to Aviano in March to enforce the no-fly zone.
An aircrew from the 916th Air Refueling Wing, Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., was one of the first Reserve KC-135 crews to take part in Joint Endeavor Express, the airlift of priority cargo from Dover AFB, Del., to Europe. The flight was noteworthy since the wing is in training status, having transitioned from a KC-10 associate mission to a KC-135 unit equipped mission in October. Six other Reserve KC-135 units are also taking part in the Express mission, sometimes launching from Charleston AFB, S.C., when snow shuts down Dover.
The 916th ARW crew left Dover with 10 passengers and 12,000 pounds of palletized cargo bound for Rhein-Main AB, Germany, the first leg of a priority mission into Bosnia. On New Year's Eve, after leaving Germany and en route to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, the crew was asked to provide emergency air refueling for an RC-135V surveillance aircraft.
"They (RC-135 crew) had their nose gear locked in the up position so they couldn't land," explained Maj. Mark Chenier, the 916th ARW pilot. Because of the air refueling, the stranded RC-135 was able to land safely four hours later after experts on the ground had worked out the problem.
Reserve C-5 aircrews began flying Joint Endeavor missions into Germany Dec. 7. Twelve days later, Maj. Pete Doby and his C-5 crew from the 349th Air Mobility Wing, Travis AFB, Calif., flew into Budapest, Hungary.
"As we taxied off the runway, I asked the air traffic controller in Hungarian where we should park" said Doby, whose family immigrated to the United States 32 years ago. "He answered and then asked where I learned to speak the language. I told him, 'right here.' The controllers were excited and asked if they could come over to see the plane.
"As we taxied into our parking spot, I saw a convoy of little cars approaching. Soon the media emerged, surrounding the aircraft. As it turned out, we were the first C-5 to land at Budapest for Operation Joint Endeavor.
"I never dreamed that one day I would land at the very same airport I left 32 years ago to immigrate to the United States, nor could I imagine being a military pilot on a mission to keep peace in my old homeland's region. It was quite an honor."
Reserve C-141 and C-17 crews have also flown Joint Endeavor airlift missions. (Courtesy of AFRES News Service)