Touching them all Published July 30, 2009 By Lt. Col. Craig Trammel 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Southwest Asia -- SOUTHWEST ASIA - The faraway lands comprising the Middle East continues to generate news every day. Beyond the saturation coverage of Michael Jackson's death and Iranian election upheaval, U.S. military forces press ahead with business-a reinvigorated surge against the Taliban in Afghanistan, withdrawal and reprioritization of U.S. troops in Iraqi cities, and continued attention to the security of Somalia in the Horn of Africa region. On the front line of all three theaters are the 934th Airlift Wing's Flying Vikings. At this location, we touch them all. Unique to our location is the ability to be the hub and spoke to all three areas of concentration - Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa. No other deployed unit on base can claim this as their assigned mission. A steady state of airlift exists for OIF, OEF and HOA, and the stats to date bear out the contribution - more than 1,100 flying hours and 600 sorties flown, hauling more than 700 cargo tons and carrying about 12,000 passengers while transporting 250 aeromedical evacuation patients. Distinguished visitors don't just ride the Gulfstream and Lear jets in this place - the 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron has carried 18 so far, including the Air Mobility Command commander and the Secretary of Defense's undersecretary on the same day. The numbers are eye-popping compared to normal stateside operations, and therein lies a measure of what the nearly 150 members of the 934th AW bring to what is now known as overseas contingency operations. Much like at home, the pervasive attitude is to lean forward and hack the mission. With flight crew duty periods occasionally exceeding 15-16 hours, the work is long and exhausting. Dedicated staffers work to keep vital ground support flowing and on time. Maintenance support from our own is tops on base - the 379th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit was recognized as the best performing unit in June. Their attention to our aircraft in the harshest of conditions (110 degree weather every day, blowing sand and dust, and now the humidity) keeps our mission effectiveness among the best in the area of responsibility - exceeding 98 percent mission ready day-to-day. It is, in the best of Flying Viking tradition, a total team effort. We are well past the half-way point in this deployment, and are eagerly looking forward to green landscapes, blue skies and Minnesota fall temperatures. But the work we're doing now validates a lifetime of training, and the contribution we all desire to give this country, that is now put to use in the most important of ways - fighting and supporting an ideal. This won't be our last trip to the desert as our part in this long effort will continue. We touch all the bases here in many ways - and we're proud to do so.