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Germany has been commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin airlift, when the Western allies kept the city supplied despite a Soviet blockade. Veterans of the airlift, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s, attended ceremonies in Berlin and Frankfurt. The American and British-led airlift lasted for more than a year, and involved planes delivering everything from coal to sweets. It was one of the biggest humanitarian air relief missions in history. "I find the courage with which this operation was carried out truly admirable," said German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung. A small group of veteran airmen...

It was one of the most-amazing sights of the Cold War. By the hundreds, plane after plane thundered into the Berlin airports of Gatow, Tempelhof and Tegel, often arriving at the rate of one every three minutes. The supplies they delivered during the course of about a year sustained over 22,000 Western troops and over two million German civilians huddled in the ruins of the war-ravaged city. That the chief metropolis of a former, enemy nation could suddenly become a symbol of freedom revealed much about the strange, new era the world was entering. It also said much about the...

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 17, 2008 – The historic humanitarian efforts of the Berlin Airlift 60 years ago demonstrated to U.S. allies and enemies alike that the country would not be deterred from its commitments, the Air Force secretary said today. Two Oracle bi-planes perform aerial acrobatics during the Joint Service Open House at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., May 17, 2008. Thousands attended the event, which coincided with the 60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. Defense Dept. photo by Fred W. Baker III  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It displayed a U.S. dedication to a...

3/28/2008 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Air mobility leaders gathered for the annual Phoenix Rally to acknowledge past and present accomplishments while celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift March 24 through 28 here. The theme of Phoenix Rally was "A legacy of global reach and hope," chosen to recognize the Air Mobility Command's past, present and future. At this year's conference, attendees acknowledge the historical accomplishments of Berlin Airlift along with special guest, retired Col. Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber. "This year is special because we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin...

As teenage residents of West Berlin during what many consider to be the first battle of the Cold War, Guenther and Gisela Petzold never knew how close the Berlin Airlift came to collapsing. It wasn't until years later, after the couple married and became U.S. citizens, that they learned of the difficulties surrounding the operation and how their neighbor played a critical role in the airlift's success. While the Petzolds didn't get to know retired Gen. T. Ross Milton until the trio met at an Oro Valley affair, they certainly benefited from his actions during the pivotal standoff between the...

More than 65 Iraqi Police recruits line up to board an Iraqi C-130 Hercules set to transport the men to the Iraqi National Police Training Academy in Sulamaniya, Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jennifer Lindsey. NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE — The Iraqi Air Force provided airlift support to more than 360 National Police recruits bound for the Iraqi National Police Training Academy in Sulamaniya, Dec. 26. The Ministries of Defense and Interior executed a very smooth operation consisting of six airlift sorties by the Iraqi Air Force and administrative and logistical command and control by the...

OTTAWA (CP) - National Defence wants to jump the queue once again to get faster delivery of new Hercules tactical-lift aircraft and has formally asked the Pentagon if it can butt into line ahead of the U.S. military. Canada is hoping to start receiving the new model of the venerable C-130 by 2009, a full year ahead of the previously established schedule, according to a senior Defence official. The Pentagon is "favourable to the idea," said Dan Ross, the department's assistant deputy minister of material. An official decision by the Americans has yet to be made because Prime Minister Stephen...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, March 16, 2007 – Airlift is essential to success in the war in Afghanistan, the commander of U.S. Transportation Command said here March 14. Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz visited Bagram to observe and speak about the airlift mission being performed throughout Afghanistan. As the single manager for global air, land, and sea transportation for the Defense Department, Schwartz said he’s familiar with the partnerships exhibited here among the U.S. services and coalition forces. "The team at Bagram is, in fact, a joint team," he said. "People appreciate what each other do and try...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Feb. 21, 2007 — When people think of air assaults they may have an image in their mind of soldiers repelling from helicopters down long ropes and then once on the ground, the soldiers go to attack an objective. But much of what the Army teaches about air assaults concerns the ability to airlift supplies, equipment and other re-supply items, getting them quickly to soldiers in the combat zone. "If one of my fellow soldiers is in desperate need of equipment in the combat zone, I know I'm trained and prepared to help him get that equipment...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2006 -- The Hawaii National Guard is planning to airlift supplies to isolated residents on Maui as soon as their needs are ascertained, a military official said from the state’s capital today. Local authorities are compiling supply needs lists from Maui residents, Hawaii National Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony said from Honolulu during a phone interview with American Forces Press Service. Items requested by Maui residents will likely range from fuel needed to power generators to food and other necessities, he said. A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck the Hawaiian Islands Oct. 15. No deaths were reported....

10/5/2006 - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AFPN) -- Retired Lt. Col. James and Ellie Spatafora possess a unique answer to a common question couples are quizzed about. When asked where they met, they answer that the seeds of their 56-year marriage were planted during the historic Berlin Airlift. The couple was able to catch up on old times with friends during a Berlin Airlift plaque dedication at Veterans Memorial Park here Oct. 4. More than 150 people attended the dedication, which was one of numerous events held during the weeklong reunion of the Berlin Airlift Veterans Association. The Berlin Airlift was a...

/13/2006 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Security forces protect Air Force people and resources worldwide, even when those resources are on the move at more than 300 mph. The C-130 Hercules cargo plane is the primary means of moving supplies and troops around Afghanistan. Aircrews frequently land at remote, dirt landing strips to support U.S. and Coalition forces. Often, these out-of-the-way airfields have little or no security. The 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron has a solution to this security dilemma in the form of the Fly-Away Security Team, or FAST. "Our job is to protect the aircraft and its crew...

2/15/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- When fuel supplies are not available in the region, tactical and ground forces rely on the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. A team is always on standby to fulfill an aerial bulk fuels delivery system request. The team consists of two fuels technicians who have undergone special training for this type of delivery, which involves hauling thousands of gallons of fuel in an aircraft. Staff Sgt. Erika Busbee and Senior Airman Michael Roberts from the 379th Fuels Management Flight make up one such team. “We both volunteered for this assignment,” said Airman Roberts, who...

A local New York Air National Guard unit has delivered so many relief supplies to the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast that it has been told to take a break. Officials asked the 109th Airlift Wing based in Schenectady County not to transport any supplies today. Officials said they need time to sort out what's already been delivered. In five days, crews flying C-130 cargo planes brought 235 tons of supplies and 370 personnel from the Stratton Air National Guard Base to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The missions have taken the crews to Gulfport, Mississippi, where members of the unit are...

Airlift rescues thousands from hurricane-stricken areas All Financial Times NewsAn emergency airlift rescued thousands from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans following President George W. Bush's pledge to send in more troops to help the relief effort. Mr Bush, facing criticism for the response to the catastrophe, announced on Saturday that 7,000 active troops would be despatched over the next three days. A further 10,000 National Guard were also being sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, bringing the total of US troops deployed to 40,000.

The Indian military has begun airlifting essential goods to the north-eastern state of Manipur. Organisations representing Naga tribesmen have been blockading a national highway for more than two weeks now. They are demanding that some parts of Manipur be integrated into the neighbouring state of Nagaland. The federal government has rejected the idea saying it is opposed by Manipur's political parties. Last weekend local police tried to break the blockade by force, but the Nagas responded by burning down government buildings in four districts of Manipur where they are in a majority. Limited space Loaded with essential commodities like medicines...

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2005 – Airlift operations continue at a steady clip as the members of the 86th Aerospace Expeditionary Group work to rotate the first of two brigades of Rwandan troops into the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, the group commander told the American Forces Press Service today. Air Force Col. Scott Schafer, commander of the 86th AEG at Kigali International Airport, Rwanda, said the operation is proceeding "just as planned and on schedule." Schafer made his assessment as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Sudan today, said she found it "heartening" to see the U.S. airlift operation but...

Now it can be told. Although has not been widely reported, the real hang up over Darfur aid is that President Bashir refuses to allow the US Canada or any other non-African nation to send troops. African Union troops only. The African Union nations that are willing to send troops (South Africa, Nigeria and others) are standing behind a Kofi Annan sponsored deal in which they refuse to send troops unless the western governments pay them $157,000 per troop sent (far more than the actual cost). SOURCE: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MHII-6CG54T?OpenDocument and another http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8616964 and another http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/05/26/sudan.annan.reut/ It is pretty hard to say...

The memories are still vivid: a steaming bus ride through the humid morning, the acrid odor of jet fuel, the clouds of smoke from distant gunfire, getting closer. Then about 450 people boarded the last commercial flight out of Saigon, headed for the United States. That was April 24, 1975, six days before the North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon. A Pan American World Airways Boeing 747 -- crammed with Pan Am and U.S. Embassy staff, frightened refugees, crying orphans and volunteer crew members -- lifted off the potholed tarmac at Tan Son Nhut International Airport on the outskirts of...

CQ HOMELAND SECURITY – BORDER SECURITYApril 8, 2005 – 8:28 p.m. Flight Plans? DHS May Resume Airlifting Mexican Illegals Back Home By Zack Phillips, CQ Staff The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is thinking about resuming a program to transport illegal aliens back to their hometowns in Mexico, rather than the present practice of expelling them at the Arizona border. The main clue that it might renew a program that was tried out last year was an unheralded notice from the department’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection that it is looking for a firm to provide charter flights from...

Globalist Perspective > Global Politics Tsunami Relief — The Great Indian Absence By Ashutosh Sheshabalaya | Wednesday, February 09, 2005 Why did the U.S. and European media virtually ignore the post-tsunami relief efforts mounted by the Indian military? Ashutosh Sheshabalaya argues that this failure is just another sign of the West’s inability to get over its stereotypes of India as a backward country. It’s time for the global community to give due recognition to this fast-emerging giant — or risk itself becoming out-of-date. n January 5, 2005, several thousand tons of wreckage and debris were cleared from Sri Lanka’s tsunami-crippled...

LOCKHEED MARTIN IN THE NEWS: LOCKHEED'S HERCULES MAY GET REPRIEVE: The Pentagon may not halt production of the Marietta-built C-130J Hercules after all, Sen. Johnny Isakson said Wednesday. President Bush released a budget proposal Monday that called for eliminating the plane after next year. But SECDEF Donald Rumsfeld has told Georgia lawmakers that the Pentagon is already re-evaluating that decision. Rumsfeld did not pledge to spare the plane during a meeting with senators Tuesday, Isakson said. But as soon as Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Isakson asked why the Pentagon was recommending that the plane be scrapped, Rumsfeld was quick to...

China Seeks Heavylift Aircraft Jane’s Defence Weekly (JDW) reported on 16 September 2004 that China is approaching Ukraine for heavylift aircraft to boost its long-distance strategic power projection capabilities for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). JDW cites its sources in Beijing that China has launched preliminary talks with Ukraine on the potential acquisition and/or licensed production of Antonov heavylift transport aircraft. It is understood that China may be interested in purchasing few Antonov An-124 (NATO codename: Condor) four-engine freighters, the world’s largest production aircraft with a maximum payload of 120 tonnes. Additionally, China may also consider the even...

MOSCOW, Russia -- Russia is continuing efforts to evacuate employees of its companies from Iraq, but has sent a single plane to Baghdad instead of the planned three because hundreds of workers are choosing to stay.When Moscow announced the airlift of up to 816 workers two days ago following a spate of kidnappings, CNN's Ryan Chilcote reported many Russian workers wanted to stay in Iraq.An Ilyushin Il-62 jet took off from a military airfield outside Moscow Friday morning and was to return from Baghdad later in the day, Emergency Situations Ministry spokesman Viktor Beltsov told The Associated Press.Another ministry spokesman,...

Curbs sought on DoD contracting with foreign civil air carriers House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., has reportedly proposed new legislation to include in the fiscal 2004 defense authorization conference report that would limit the Defense Department's ability to contract with foreign civil air carriers during a crisis, according to congressional aides. The proposal, which would amend laws that govern the Pentagon's Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, falls beyond the committee's jurisdiction. But sources say Senate Armed Services and Senate Commerce committees staff are reviewing it. Under current law, U.S. airlines contract with the Pentagon through the...

Eighteen Iraqi children are on the road to recovery after receiving free medical care in Germany earlier this month. The German state of Rhineland-Pfalz, home of the Kaiserslautern military community, volunteered to provide the children with medical treatment not available in Iraq. The U.S. Air Force transported the 18 to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Oct. 6. Most of the children suffer from congenital, acquired or traumatic conditions; two were injured during the recent war. The German Red Cross took 17 of the children to 12 Rhineland-Pfalz hospitals, where an array of specialty doctors began treatment. The 18th patient was...

French block airlift of British troops to Basra By Henry Samuel and Michael Smith (Filed: 16/09/2003) The French government has told an airline that it is not to ferry British troops to Basra, a ban that will be seen as reflecting Paris's opposition to the occupation of Iraq.Corsair, which has been chartered numerous times to transport UK forces around the world, pulled out of a contract to fly reinforcements to Basra at the weekend. About 1,400 more troops are being sent to Basra as part of an attempt to prevent the "strategic failure" predicted by Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary,...

AMMAN, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The U.N. stepped up an airlift of its international staff from Iraq to Jordan on Thursday following the suicide bombing of its headquarters in Baghdad. "We are bringing people out from Baghdad... we are expecting a series of flights to arrive in Amman within the coming three days," Christine McNab, the U.N. resident coordinator in Jordan, told reporters. "Jordan is the main route for people out of Iraq," she added. "The main transport will be over today, tomorrow, Saturday." Six U.N. chartered planes were expected on Thursday, each capable of carrying up to 40 passengers,...

C-130s are SUVs of airlift by Lanorris Askew Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs 03/31/03 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- In a world where fighters are seen as the sleek Lamborghinis of the flying world, C-130s are still carrying the load as the SUVs of airlift. According to workers from of the C-130 system program office and the production people who maintain the aircraft here, that is just what it should be doing. While smaller jet planes may get all of the attention, the mighty C-130 Hercules has its place firmly established in military warfare and...

Massive airlift as dozens die in Nigeria fighting By Glenn Mackenzie in Warri, Nigeria 21 March 2003 Hundreds of women, children and the elderly were flown to safety yesterday from fighting in the oil-rich Niger Delta that killed scores of people and crippled multinational oil company operations. ChevronTexaco, Shell and the Nigerian National Petrol-eum Corporation used helicopters to evacuate peoplefrom remote oil facilities, where they had taken refuge from the fighting in the southern port city of Warri. At least eight villages and one oil facility have been destroyed in battles involving Nigerian soldiers and Ijaw and Itsekiri ethnic militants....

WASHINGTON: The US government is drawing up plans for a mass evacuation of some 64,000 Americans from India and Pakistan as tensions escalate between the two nuclear foes over disputed Kashmir, USA Today reported on Thursday. A US government team is in India working on a contingency plan to evacuate 1,100 US troops on three bases in Pakistan and up to 63,000 US citizens in both countries, the newspaper reported. US State Department officials are working with officials from the US military's Pacific Command on plans for a massive airlift of American civilians, the paper reported, citing an unnamed Pentagon...

Afghan missions during November required every C-17 KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - Although hamstrung by its lowest cargo capacity in decades, the Air Force has managed to operate a supply bridge to Afghanistan that has proved invaluable to the U.S.-led campaign there. But as the Bush administration lays the groundwork for expanding the war on terrorism to Iraq, military strategists say the Pentagon's diminished, aging and stressed cargo fleet will be hard-pressed to support such an invasion.