Dover C-17 aircrew delivers to Mali

Published Feb. 1, 2013
By Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- A Dover C-17 Globemaster III aircrew flew the first U.S. sortie into Mali, delivering French personnel, equipment and supplies to the war-stricken region.

The airlift mission took nearly 6 hours and carried a load that was near the C-17's maximum capacity.

The aircraft commander, Capt. Matthew Hood, 3rd Airlift Squadron evaluator pilot, said he was proud of the way his crew performed during the mission.

"I was really lucky to have a crew that was flexible and passionate about getting the mission done," he said. "There were a lot of changes made throughout the mission. Considering all of the hurdles, every single person rose to the occasion and did an amazing job."

The native of Smyrna, Ga., said the short-notice nature of the mission forced his crew to be extremely flexible, as many details were being decided as they waited on alert. He said his crew did a good job of being patient and focused on taking care of the things that they could.

Senior Airman Jensen Dejaynes, a loadmaster with the 3rd Airlift Squadron, said the mission tested the crew's ability to think on their feet.

"The biggest challenge was to remain flexible," he said. "We had to roll with the punches, because we couldn't predict what was going to happen."

Dejaynes, a native of Lakewood, Colo., said the mission provided him an opportunity to work with military personnel from other nations for the first time.

"It was hard to deal with the language barrier sometimes," he said. "But it was pretty cool to work with some of our international partners that I haven't worked with before."

Dejaynes said he was impressed by the teamwork that made the mission a success.

"I thought it was pretty cool to see all of the organizations that went into making this mission a possibility," he said. "We got to see the results of what we do play out on a global scale. It was a pretty humbling experience."

Hood echoed Dejayne's sentiment and said he felt very fortunate to be able to take part.

"It was pretty exciting to be part of an operation like this that is far reaching and has such a global impact," he said. "Any other C-17 crew given the chance would have done the same thing. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I was happy to have the opportunity to fill the role."