Travis supports NATO mission in Iceland

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Madelyn Brown
  • 60th AIr Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  As 1st Lt. Calvin Hunter approached Keflavik International Airport, Iceland on board a Travis C-17 Globemaster III on Oct. 31, the Jamaican native couldn't shake the thought of how cold the harsh tundra would be.

"The scenery in Iceland was gorgeous," he said. "But it was between 0 to 2 degrees Celsius with a wind chill around -5 degrees Celsius. It was cold to the bones."

Hunter was a copilot on the C-17 that departed from Travis to support the 48th Air Expeditionary Group in their efforts to secure the sovereignty of Iceland's air space. The
48th AEG is comprised of more than 200 Airmen in different continental United States and European bases as well as personnel from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The 48th AEG is working to accomplish this mission by use of radar surveillance and identification of objects in the air space. Aircraft such as the F-15C Eagle may be employed to assist in identification, interception and escort of aircraft.

It's the F-15C portion of the mission that employed the Travis cargo plane. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, the aircrew made three trips from Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath, United Kingdom to Keflavik International Airport.

"We transported a total of 146,600 pounds of cargo and more than 40 passengers," Hunter said. "We needed to transport the big stuff needed to start the F-15s."

The cargo included ground support equipment included as hoists, bomb lifts and humvees.

"We were moving maximum density loads and Keflavik Airport didn't have equipment offload capability," said Staff Sgt. Richard Danelz, 21st Airlift Squadron loadmaster. "We needed to use the internal wench to get the fighter support equipment on the ground."

Once on the Keflavik flightline, the crew had the opportunity to communicate with the local Icelanders.

"I talked with the flightline driver who took us from the aircraft to what would be considered their base operations," Hunter said. "I told him how I never thought I would set foot in Iceland and asked what their flag looked like."

Hunter learned that the colors of the flag of Iceland are fire red, snow white and sky blue. On the day of the C-17's departure, that flightline driver presented him with an Icelandic national flag of regulation size.

"When he brought that flag to me, I ripped off my 21st Airlift Squadron BEEliner patch and gave it to him in return," he said.

The camaraderie formed between coalition forces from different nations reflects the transcendent effect the mission can have on cultural barriers, Hunter said. It was a pleasure and an honor to be a part of it.

"It was a tough mission," Danelz said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Airman 1st Class Dana Butler contributed to this article.