'Train 60' awarded Mackay Trophy: Loadmaster from Dyess helps make hair-raising Iraqi training flight successful

Published Dec. 7, 2006
By Airman 1st Class Carolyn Viss
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- A Dyess Airman was presented with the Mackay Trophy Nov. 6 in Arlington, Va., because of his and four of his comrades' bravery and valor during a hair-raising Iraqi training flight Feb. 13, 2005.

Master Sgt. Corey Turner, 40th Airlift Squadron instructor loadmaster and assistant flight chief, was part of the five-person "Train 60" crew that flew interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and his staff from Baghdad International Airport to Al Sulaymania civil airport near Kirkuk, Iraq, in a C-130. Mr. Allawi was on his way to meet Kurdish dignitaries after the nation's first democratic vote put him in office.

What should have been a 45-minute flight turned into a four-hour flight, Sergeant Turner said, and the circumstances were difficult at best.

"We went over (to Iraq) to stand up the Iraqi Air Force," he said. "President (George W.) Bush gave them three C-130s, and we were there to teach Iraqi servicemembers how to operate and run a squadron. The pilots, navigators and crews spoke very limited English, and this particular flight took off with an all-student crew. The Americans were backing them up, of course, but we had the entire Iraqi staff of the interim prime minister on board, on our way to Kurdistan."

Master Sgt. William Goddard, 40th AS loadmaster instructor superintendent, said the flight carried huge potential for danger.

"C-130s are the second-most fired-at aircraft, next to heli(copter)s," he said. "If insurgents knew that Iraqi students were working with Americans on that flight, and that the entire government staff was on board, they'd become the No. 1 target. And if they managed to take out that bird, that would be one third of the Iraqi Air Force!"

Everything on the flight was going fine, Sergeant Turner said, until the weather took a bad turn.

"Just as we were entering the most difficult, snow-covered terrain, the weather just went sour," he said. "When both the ground and the sky are covered in snow and you're working with student pilots who are on unfamiliar aircraft systems and don't speak English, it's bad news. We had to drop below the weather and hope the air traffic controllers had us on radar."

They were flying at around 1,500 feet, operating the aircraft by what they saw on the ground, he said. The instructor crew took control of the aircraft from the terrified Iraqi students for the final portion of the flight.

"We had no radio contact at all whatsoever, and by the time we got to our destination we had no current information on the air field," Sergeant Turner said. "The site looked completely different from (anything we'd seen before). The runway looked like a chess board--unfinished with huge, 20-foot blocks of concrete missing. But then we saw a brand-new tower and terminal, and a red carpet with a band and honor guard, and we knew we were in the right place."

After making several passes, they landed on the taxiway, which was one-third the size of a runway, in what he called a "dead reckoning." The tips of their wings were sticking out over bare dirt, but the passengers and crew were safely on the ground.

Lieutenant Col. Mike Zick, 40th AS commander, was "more than proud" of Sergeant Turner and the members of the Train 60 team.

"What can one say about receiving a trophy that has distinguished recipients like Eddie Rickenbacker, Hap Arnold, and Chuck Yeager?" said Colonel Zick. "'Train 60' will forever be associated amongst these giants now. And whenever the next generation of young Airmen peer at the Mackay Trophy within its display case at the Air and Space Museum, they will see 'Train 60's' call sign and go and look it up for the deed they did to earn such an honor. And perhaps they, too, will heed the call to the wild blue and someday carry on where these brave warriors left off."

What makes this award even more special is what the crew said themselves the night they received it, Colonel Zick said.

"They said they 'stood up on that stage representing all mobility warriors past and present. None of them could have accomplished what they did without a long line of Airmen who had a hand in training them, equipping them, and supporting them.' They also acknowledged the huge debt they all owed to their families and significant others. It was their love and belief in them that gave them daily strength and sense of purpose," he said.

Colonel Zick said the trophy is "a victory" for Mobility Warriors everywhere.

"Sergeant Turner's crew was made up of crewmembers from all over the (world)," he said. "All these professionals came together to carry out their assigned mission, and they did it in an exceptional manner. Bottom line, it's tough being a good instructor; but it's even tougher when your students don't speak your language and each training flight is also a flight within a combat zone."

These warriors didn't want to be known as "heroes" or "special," they wanted to be known as "crew dogs," Colonel Zick said.

"A crew dog receives a mission, plans it, and executes it to the best of their ability regardless of the circumstances or lack of tangible assets," he said. "They adapt to a constantly changing environment and they thrive on getting the impossible done ... today. These crew dogs earned this award not just for themselves, but for all of us who have done their time in the desert."

The Mackay Trophy is awarded for the "most meritorious flight of the year" by an Air Force person, persons, or organization.

According to the National Aeronautic Association, the Mackay Trophy was first presented by Clarence Mackay in 1912 and deeded to the National Aeronautic Association. The trophy is administered by the United States Air Force and NAA and is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum facility in Washington, D.C.