NATO C-17 wing completes first mission into Iraq

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A recent flight into Iraq marks another unit milestone for the multinational Heavy Airlift Wing based at Pápa Air Base, Hungary.

The airlift mission into Iraq was the first by the wing, which comprises 12 member nations, and facilitated the deployment for members of the NATO Training Mission-Iraq.

"Each time we fly a mission into a different area of responsibility, it confirms the 12-nation commitment to support each other's national requirements without regard to whether an individual nation has troops involved in that area," Col. John Zazworsky, HAW commander, said. "Like each of our other missions to date, we flew this mission with multinational crew members in all crew positions."

The mission also enabled the redeployment of 30 International Security Assistance Force members and 25 tons of equipment from Afghanistan. Combining missions and increasing airlift efficiencies is a central wing goal.

"The HAW is starting to make a real difference in moving missions to Iraq and Afghanistan," Col. Mark Melville, chief of the Air Mobility Division, 603rd Air Operations Center, said.

The difference made by the HAW is also noticed by members of the various commands working with them.

"I've been here four years and this is one of the smoothest moves we've had yet," Capt. Terry White, movement and transportation officer, Joint Forces Command-Naples, said. "They understood all the required procedures, pre-filed all the diplomatic clearances, and they were on time."

The quality of airlift provided by the wing activated less than a year ago comes from the airmen.

"The capability of any unit comes down to the caliber of the personnel in the unit," Colonel Zazworsky said. "In our case, we have moved from idea to combat operations in three years. This has been possible because of the quality airmen from all the nations who volunteered to take on the challenges of this effort.

"In some areas, the C-17 specific expertise of the U.S. Air Force Airmen allowed us to get started quickly. In other areas, the experience of many European air forces with the use of shared military capabilities allowed us to tailor our command and control process to fit our concept of operations."

The wing operates three C-17 Globemaster IIIs and includes NATO member nations Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the U.S., as well as Partnership for Peace nations Finland and Sweden.

The wing activated July 27, and each nation committed to the 30-year Strategic Airlift Capability program to collectively solve global heavy airlift issues and meet obligations to the European Union, United Nations and NATO.

"There are two areas of experience that U.S. Air Force Airmen have been able to share," Colonel Zazworsky said. "First, expertise with C-17 operations and support has helped our other members make the adjustments to strategic airlift operations. Second, the experience of our families with multiple change-of-station moves helped other nations' families adjusting to new locations, since they tend not to move their families as often as the USAF."


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