737th EAS reaches 10K mission milestone

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Lindsey Maurice
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Considered by some to be an old-timer in a modern-day aircraft fleet, the C-130H proved its worth once again, successfully completing its 10,000th mission of the year for the 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron here Dec. 23.

C-130H, tail number was 74-2065, based at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, has been reliably transporting thousands of troops and tons of cargo within the Southwest Asia area of responsibility since October as it has on deployments past.

"While 10,000 missions in a year is a feat that has been reached before, it is the teamwork of everyone involved from maintenance, logistics readiness and the air terminal operations center, to the many other support functions that makes this a noteworthy milestone," said Col. Mark Czelusta, 386th Operations Group commander and Juno Beach, Fla., native. "Like the rest of our airlift community, the 737th EAS did not reduce its taskings or its commitment through the holidays. It is truly a unit that is 'all in'."

The 737th EAS' 10,000th mission, was like any other for its crew of seven; all assigned to the 40th Airlift Squadron out of Dyess AFB, moving troops and supplies into Iraq.

"We were honored to be a part of this," said Capt. Heidi Hofsetter, 737th EAS pilot and Petoskey, Mich., native. "It was a surreal experience, but at the same time it was just a normal day-to-day mission accomplishing the goals of Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Airman 1st Class Austin Miles, one of two loadmasters on the milestone flight, echoed the captain's sentiments.

"The mission was pretty smooth, just like any other mission," said the Tucson, Ariz., native. "Any one of our crews could have been on the 10,000th mission and the fact that we were the ones feels pretty awesome."

The 737th EAS is a tactical airlift unit whose mission is to deliver "troops, beans and bullets" to joint team members in both the operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom theaters.

"Typical missions leave out of here and proceed up into Iraq with any number of multiple stops to carry troops and cargo," said Lt. Col. George Clark, 737th EAS commander and Elberton, Ga., native. "So far in this rotation (which began in October), we've carried more than 54,000 passengers on 2,100 sorties and a little more than 1,400 tons of cargo. Most of those were short runs to multiple destinations carrying troops back and forth to different bases and sometimes bringing those troops back to this location to catch a rotator home."

Capt. James Mockalis, 737th EAS copilot for the milestone flight, said troop redeployment is one of the highlights of the job for him.

"I think we're pretty fortunate to do the job that we're doing out here," said the Sumter, S.C., native. "Not only do we get to meet a lot of people coming into the country, but we get to transport a lot of troops who are going home. It's a unique and fun experience seeing how excited they are after a really long deployment to be going home. It's nice to get to be a part of that."

Staff Sgt. Nick Kenneally, 737th EAS flight engineer, added that while the unit faces a much higher operations tempo during its Southwest Asia deployments, the teamwork and camaraderie felt by everyone on the team makes for a memorable experience.

"We definitely operate the aircraft at a higher rate here than we do back home," said the Des Moines, Iowa, native. "These are 35-plus-year-old aircraft and they do take more of a beating here, but thanks to the great relationship we have between maintenance and operations, these planes keep on truckin' every day and should continue to do so for another 35-plus years."