DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Six Airmen assigned to the 317th Airlift Wing completed a one-day training mission in the Bahamas, June 5.
The mission was in support of Tradewinds 2018, a U.S. Southern Command joint, multinational and interagency exercise that aims build the capacity of U.S. forces and nations in the Caribbean to better respond to natural disasters, as well as land and maritime threats.
Approximately 1,700 military and civilian personnel from 20 partner countries participated in the exercise.
“As a C-130J Super Hercules crew, we provided airlift support for personnel, as well as supplies to assist the execution of Tradewinds 2018,” said Staff Sgt. Kimberly Vasquez, 39th Airlift Squadron C-130 evaluator loadmaster.
While the C-130 crew only provided support on one day of the 18-day exercise, their support was vital to the exercise’s success. The team flew 22,000 pounds of food rations from Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina to Lynden Pindling International Airport in the Bahamas for the exercise participants.
“The rations we transported were key to the exercise because we enabled participants to spend multiple days in the field training and exercising their ability to respond to a wide variety of threats and crises,” said 1st Lt. Kenneth Koonz, 40th Airlift Squadron pilot. “This support vastly improved the Caribbean nations’ capability and regional organizations’ cooperation to continue to provide security and stabilization to the Caribbean Basin.”
The exercise gave Airmen the opportunity to interact with military forces from allied countries.
“The hardest part about this exercise was the language barrier,” said Vasquez. “With the barrier, it took a little bit more time than usual to complete our duties as loadmasters, but we still managed to get the mission done.”
Tradewinds 2018 provided the opportunity for all participants to operate together and ensure the collective security of the region.