Joint Operation streaks toward “New Horizons’

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Steven Wilson
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
An Air Force Reserve Command C-5A Galaxy loaded with two Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, and five pieces of support vehicles and ground equipment went wheels up Jan. 31st from here and made headway toward "New Horizons."

New Horizons is a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored readiness training exercise program. New Horizons - Nicaragua 2007 "Juntos Podemos," is designed to train United States and their Nicaraguan counterparts, while providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Nicaragua.

While Ellsworth Airmen are used to loading ordnance on B-1 bombers, Airmen here rose to the challenge of accomplishing a cargo load on the massive C-5.

And they did it in some frigid conditions.

"It was pretty nasty that morning," said Master Sgt. Everett Medberry, 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron air terminal operations center section chief. "The temperature by itself was zero and the wind just made everything worse.

"But it was an outstanding job. Everybody did great out there," he added.

Sergeant Medberry said the Army provided the technical experts for their equipment while Airmen handled getting the cargo onto the aircraft.

"These guys were really good," he said, speaking of his Army counterparts. "Whatever we asked for, they provided it.

"There were no 'service versus other service' problems," he added.

That's important in today's world of joint operations.

Sergeant Medberry said that in his 18-years worth of experience, he has recently noticed a spike in joint operations between Air Force and other services to get the mission done.
2nd Lt. Sarah Atherton, 28th Bomb Wing installation deployment officer echoed Sergeant Medberry's sentiments on joint operations.

"The leaders of our military recognize the unique specialties of each service," she said. "They also recognize that by working together we can achieve our goals faster and with greater success.

"We're doing that here at Ellsworth; working closely with the Army to see the overall mission gets accomplished. The bottom line is we're all in the fight no matter what uniform someone wears when gearing up to conduct the Nation's business," she added.

Staff Sgt. Eric Brewster, 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron NCO in charge of air freight said the whole operation was a unique experience for him.

"The Army world is a little different than ours," he said. "They're used to moving things on the ground and we are the air movement experts."

Ellsworth's Airmen loaded the massive aircraft in blazing time.

"Loading the cargo took just under two and one-half hours," Sergeant Brewster said. "Normally, a load like this takes anywhere from three to three and one-half hours."
Maj. Orson Ward, spokesperson for the Army National Guard at Camp Rapid, S.D. said the helicopters the Airmen loaded will play a key part in New Horizons.

"The helicopters will provide general aviation and (medical evacuation) support for the operation," he said. "They can transport equipment, supplies and resources anywhere in the country.

"The Blackhawk has jungle penetration capability that's ideal for that type of terrain," he added.

U.S. servicemembers, working alongside their Nicaraguan hosts, are scheduled to build one, two-room school and one, five-room medical clinic. They are also scheduled to provide free medical care during three scheduled medical readiness training exercises.

New Horizons is scheduled to take place Feb. 5 - May 1.