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More Than Expected
The TALCE guys were used to seeing six pallets and maybe a trailer on the C-17. Then a C-5 lands with seven times the amount of stuff. They couldn't believe it.
— Capt. Hugh Hansens
Pathfinders
We sent a handpicked crew in first. They would pass the information from their experience along to the crews that followed. A pilot from the previous flight would go back as an observer to help a crew that hadn't been in before. We call it a pathfinder concept. We got a lot of crews trained that way
— Maj. Jon Erickson
No Overnights
We didn't stay overnight in Baghdad. Nobody wanted to stay in Baghdad. We would land, unload, and get gas. On those first flights in, we spent about an hour and a half on the ground.
— Maj. Jon Erickson
Close, But No Cigar
We saw ground fire flying into Baghdad, just like you see on TV. Luckily, it was not aimed at us.
— Maj. Jon Erickson
High Morale
In Baghdad, we started off with extreme amounts of caution and took in only the things they needed. After the first couple of weeks, the restrictions eased up a little and the floodgates opened. A lot of people worked together for a common purpose. The operation was really successful and still is. We have very high morale rates, too.
— Maj. Louis Patriquin
Unloading In Baghdad
I was part of a group that relieved the first guys who had gone into Baghdad. Baghdad International had gone from the Wild West to a small city by the time we got there. I slept in an air-conditioned tent that held ten people, but the amount of work didn't let us stay in the tent much. The day was typically fifteen hours, but we worked as long as twenty-four hours as the volume of incoming aircraft increased. We sent about twelve people from our unit. We had thirteen people from an Air Guard unit and about the same number from McChord. We were fired up. I think we would try to unload an aircraft that was still in the air if we could.
— SMSgt. Clinton Foster
Thirty Days And Counting
I was activated in February with a thirty-day scheduled return time. We are still activated as of December. The plan was to go out with the same crew in this for thirty days. Typically, our flights went from Europe to theater to Europe or back to the United States. Initially, they sent only SOLL II crews into Baghdad, but we began flying there when they realized they didn't have enough SOLL II crews.
— Maj. Louis Patriquin
Wake-Up Call
We slacked off just a little bit, once going into Baghdad became a regular occurrence. Then the Kentucky guys got shot at by an SA-7. That woke up everybody.
— Maj. Carl Hoagy
Subway Missions
We would come in from the north by flying through Turkey or from the south through Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The southern route added one-and-one-half to two hours of flying time. We mostly had twelve- to fourteen-hour days. The longer southern route, what we called the subway mission, extended the workday to twenty-three hours. We were very happy whenever a subway mission was cancelled.
— Capt. Paul Szweda
Better Than Gold
The people at home sent us a flatbed of stuff. We boxed it all up and sent it to the guys in Baghdad or at the front. Wet wipes, ChapStick, and toilet paper were valued more than gold.
— Maj. Carl Hoagy
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