An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Air Mobility Command reaches 'R and R' milestone

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Jung
  • Air Force News Agency
DALLAS (AFPN) --  An ATA Airlines L-1011 touched down on the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport tarmac at 8:50 a.m. June 12, bringing home the 500,000th passenger since the the U.S. Central Command's Rest and Recuperation Leave Program and Air Mobility Command's R and R flight operations began in 2003.

Maj. Gen. Frederick Roggero, director of Air, Space and Information Operations for Headquarters AMC, greeted the 151 U.S. servicemembers and Department of Defense civilians coming home from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

"The objective of this operation is to get them (stateside) and to get them to their families and get them (to their destinations) as quickly as possible. It's so good to see these folks come in here and walk off this airplane and walk out to their families today," said General Roggero. "We at Air Mobility Command think it's an absolute honor that we're able to play a role in bringing these heroes home."

AMC is responsible for contracting all commercial aircraft for worldwide DOD passenger and cargo charter airlift, including the R and R flight missions. Approximately 420 passengers fly home from the war zone daily.

Two commercial aircraft fly troops and DOD civilians from Kuwait City International Airport to two hubs in the United States: Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Servicemembers and DOD civilians incur no cost for the roundtrip airfare, nor are charged any leave time while in transit to or from their leave destination. AMC has contracted approximately 2,214 missions in support of the R&R program, according to AMC officials.

In addition to the R&R flights, all contracted commercial carriers continue to meet the daily challenge of generating sorties providing worldwide airlift for all aspects of the DOD mission.

"There are 900 sorties that happen in just one day, every day, 24 hours a day -- that's one departure every two minutes in support of the war. That's moving cargo, fuel, passengers and patients," said General Roggero.

Since 2001, AMC's commercial contracted aircraft have flown 25,000 missions, delivered more than 3 million passengers and 1 million tons of cargo around the globe, the general said.