AMC officials recognize civil reserve employees
by Tech. Mark Diamond
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
10/4/2004 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFPN) -- Air Mobility Command officials have begun awarding hundreds of Aerial Achievement Medals and thousands of certificates of appreciation to the employees of commercial air carriers called to duty during the Civil Reserve Air Fleet activation in 2003.
The fleet of commercial passenger and cargo aircraft is contractually committed to supporting Department of Defense airlift requirements when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft.
Gen. John W. Handy, commander of U.S. Transportation Command and AMC, activated the fleet’s Passenger Stage 1 in February 2003 to move U.S. troops during the buildup of forces in Southwest Asia. Cargo Stage 1 activation was avoided because of the huge “volunteer” effort mounted by cargo carriers, AMC officials said.
Civilian carriers flew 4,273 sorties moving 399,202 passengers and 18 million pounds of cargo supporting U.S. operations worldwide. In fact, during the activation, almost 90 percent of passenger movement and 40 percent of air cargo movement was accomplished by civilian carriers.
To show their appreciation for these commercial air carriers and their employees, AMC representatives said they plan to personally deliver about 1,300 Aerial Achievement Medals and 5,700 certificates of appreciation to the carriers’ employees throughout the United States.
The medals and certificates are a way of paying tribute and recognition to them for their “outstanding support during our country’s time of need,” said Maj. Gen. Mark A. Volcheff, AMC director of operations.
The first presentations took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Sept. 27. A team delivered 131 medals and 112 certificates to North American Airlines employees.
General Volcheff said he is willing to bet that most Americans do not know about the significant contributions made by civilian carriers.
"Most Americans, I'm sure, don't know that participation in (the fleet) is voluntary," he said. "Most don't know that, when activated, our (partners) have only 24 to 48 hours to respond to their first mission, so they always have to be ready. And most Americans probably don't realize that as our (partners) flew into unfamiliar areas; they were out there, unafraid, doing the job that their country needed them to do."
General Volcheff said it is their volunteerism and patriotism that makes the employees raise their hand and say "pick me, I'll go, my country needs me."
One person who "raised her hand" was Ingrid Diaz. Ms. Diaz flew on more missions than any other North American employee, said a company spokesperson.
Ms. Diaz, a flight attendant on 25 trips into Southwest Asia, said she volunteered simply because she knew they needed help and they needed volunteers who could go for as long as they needed them. She said the flights were long and difficult, but she was never really afraid.
"I trusted my passengers and just took it one day at a time," Ms. Diaz said.
The "passengers" Ms. Diaz spoke of were American servicemembers headed for duty in Southwest Asia.
General Volcheff said that during the fleet’s activation, North American provided more than 6 percent of the total commercial passenger movement, or about 24,000 passengers. He said company pilots also flew 195 missions segments with an admirable 88-percent departure reliability.
General Volcheff and his team have already delivered numerous Aerial Achievement Medals and certificates of appreciation; however, about 1,000 medals and 4,950 certificates remain to be delivered. (Courtesy of AMC News Service)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Printable story
E-mail story
Advanced Search