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Army's 18th Airborne Corps commander visits AMC

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Six months after presenting Air Mobility Command with an "Iron Mike" statuette at Fort Bragg, N.C., the commander of the U.S. Army's 18th Airborne Corps visited AMC and 18th Air Force leadership here Aug. 16 as part of an official visit.

In February, Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, presented the "Iron Mike" to Gen. Raymond Johns, AMC commander, for the support AMC provided in transporting the 82nd Airborne Division into Haiti in January following a large earthquake.

The original "Iron Mike" statue at Fort Bragg, N.C., is an "Airborne Trooper" and has been an iconic symbol honoring the American fighting men since August 1961, according to an AMC News Service article in February 2010. The Fort Bragg trooper stands at just over 16 feet tall.

In his visit to Scott AFB, General Helmick met with General Johns, Lt. Gen. Robert Allardice, 18th Air Force commander, and with personnel at the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center.

Prior to his current command position, General Helmick commanded the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq along with the NATO Training Mission-Iraq. He has held numerous command and senior staff positions and has commanded and served in many units in both operational and training commands.

During the Haiti earthquake response, AMC's efforts involved transporting Soldiers and equipment from the Global Response Force, responsible for facilitating security and the distribution of relief supplies in the region, AMC officials said. Providing airlift for the 82nd Airborne deployment took just under seven hours to plan and was executed in only 100 hours. A combination of C-17 Globemaster IIIs and C-130 Hercules aircraft were used to fly the missions, operating out of Pope Air Force Base, N.C. -- which is located adjacent to Fort Bragg.

"AMC's effort to deploy the Global Response Force [2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division] and the 18th Airborne Corps Command Post was incredible," said General Helmick in the February AMC news story. "The Airmen, pilots, and flight crews were phenomenal, flexible, professional and effective."

(Ms. Laura McAndrews, AMC Public Affairs, contributed to this story.)