MacDill Reservists deliver humanitarian cargo to citizens of Paraguay

  • Published
  • By Capt. Joe Simms
  • 927 ARW Public Affairs
MACDILL AFB, Florida --  Reservists from the 927th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, completed a rare humanitarian cargo mission to Asuncion, Paraguay, June 30.

The eight-person crew delivered a Jaws of Life tool, donated from a fire department in Washington State to a fire department in the Paraguayan capital city, to assist in the retrieval of victims from automobile accidents.

"The KC-135 Stratotanker is capable of delivering up to six pallets of cargo but our primary mission is providing air-to-air refueling," said Master Sergeant Johnny Pullen, a boom operator with the 63rd Air Refueling Squadron. "We aren't tasked to deliver humanitarian cargo very often so when we are it is a great opportunity for young boom operators to hone their skills."

Sergeant Pullen used this mission to administer a no-notice cargo evaluation for Staff Sergeant Joel Hildebrand, a fellow boom operator with the 63rd, to test Hildebrand's knowledge on aircraft systems and his proficiency in safely loading and unloading the aircraft at a strange airfield.

"The most challenging aspect to these missions is that most overseas military bases and civilian airports we fly to aren't used to receiving the KC-135, and may not have the equipment we use at MacDill. There is often a language barrier we must overcome too," Hildebrand said. "It's an adventure but it also increases your skills and abilities."

The pilots on this mission also completed a mandatory overseas flight requirement needed to maintain their currency.

"With deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait slowing down we don't go overseas quite as much as we used to so we have to find missions such as this to get our overseas flying time in," said Captain Matt Sayers, a pilot with the 63 ARS. "It's a perfect marriage because we needed the sorties and they needed the equipment and we were able to do good work while we're getting our training."

Sayers continued by saying, "Instead of accomplishing our normal mission of providing fuel to the fighters and bombers protecting the guys on the ground which is very rewarding, we are able to directly interact with the people we are supporting which is rewarding as well."

Major Ben Ward, also a pilot with the 63rd, took this sentiment one step further.

"These missions give us a chance to represent the Air Force and the United States and it allows the people we meet to put a human face to the stories they hear about the U.S. and the U.S. military. We are the people behind the stories and I can't help but think that missions like this actually make the country look better in the eyes of the rest of the world," Ward said.

"If they have any negative preconceptions hopefully we can dispel them and at the same time reinforce whatever positive impressions they may have about us."

The mission was made possible by the Denton Amendment, a jointly administered program allowing U.S. citizens and organizations to use space available on U.S. military planes to transport humanitarian goods to countries in need.

Countries in need are able to submit applications for review by USAID, the State Department and the DoD for review to determine if the donation meets the necessary requirements. In past years the Denton Program delivered nearly 2 million pounds of humanitarian goods to countries throughout the world.