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C-17 crew returns rescued contractors to America

  • Published
  • AFPN and 437th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Three Americans flew to freedom aboard an Air Mobility Command C-17 July 2 after being held more than five years in captivity by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The three military contractors -- Marc Gozalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, all employees of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. -- were rescued by the Colombian military and returned to the U.S. by a 17-member C-17 crew. The men were captured in February 2003 after their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungles of southern Colombia.

The C-17 was from Travis AFB, Calif., and its crew was from various bases including Charleston AFB, S.C. and Pope AFB, N.C.

The command pilot for the mission, Capt. Heidi Bucheit from Charleston's 15th Airlift Squadron, said she was unaware of the specifics of the mission when she was first notified.

"We were alerted, and we left immediately afterward," she said. "I was excited about the mission and lucky -- I was at the right place at the right time to bring these guys back to freedom."

The crew's mission was to fly the men directly to the U.S. aboard the C-17, which landed at Lackland AFB, Texas, shortly before midnight. From there, they were taken by helicopter to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo tests and treatment.

While the three former hostages were anticipating reuniting with their families, there were tastes of America readily available to them thanks in part to Captain Bucheit and the ground crew in Colombia.

As the crew prepared to depart Colombia, some local citizens brought them pizzas and soft drinks for their flight home. Also, Captain Bucheit brought homemade chocolate chip cookies with her to share with the rescued contractors.

"One of the (rescued contractors) told me what they missed most from America," said Captain Bucheit. "And each had mentioned they missed chocolate chip cookies, pizza and soda, so it was kind of neat we had the food they most wanted. It made them really happy."

Charleston's base commander praised the teamwork of all involved, which ensured the contractors' return just prior to the Fourth of July holiday.

"This was a big team effort," said Col John "Red" Millander, 437th AW commander. "It involved every group on the base to deliver freedom to these Americans."

Twelve others were rescued along with the Americans, including 11 Colombian police and soldiers and Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate.

(Staff Sgt. Jennifer Arredondo, 437 AW Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)