Air Force bring smiles to Iraqi children

Published May 1, 2006
By Maj. Robert Palmer
CENTAF-FWD Public Affairs

AMMAN, Jordan and BAGHDAD, Iraq (AMCNS) -- As they stepped into the large, gray military cargo plane, their eyes widened and their expressions were equal parts wonder and bewilderment. This was the first time many of the Iraqi children and their parents had ever flown in an airplane, and none had ever been in an aircraft as large as the United States Air Force’s C-17 Globemaster III.

On Saturday, the aircraft based in Southwest Asia flew 110 Iraqi children and 97 of their parents, guardians and escorts from Amman to Baghdad in support of “Operation Smile.”

Operation Smile, an international non-governmental organization, provides corrective surgery for cleft palate and cleft lip, congenital birth defects that affect approximately one out of every 600 children, according to the Cleft Palate Foundation. Operation Smile had evaluated the Iraqi children and transported them to Amman for corrective surgery.

According to Chris Anderson, an Operation Smile staff member based in the Middle East, the leadership of Operation Smile had a growing concern for the safety and security of the children on the 22-hour return bus trip from Amman to Baghdad through Iraq’s western provinces.

“We basically determined that [returning by bus] at this time wasn’t the safest option for the kids,” said Anderson. “For us, safety of the patients has always been the number one priority.”

Operation Smile Co-Founder and CEO Dr. William P. Magee, Jr. and chief medical officer Dr. Robert Rubin wrote to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and requested assistance from the United States Air Force to provide safe airlift for the Iraqi children and their parents.

The Air Force received approval for the mission late Friday evening and by early Saturday morning, the C-17 was airborne and enroute to Amman.

After the young patients and their parents had settled into their seats, they listened intently as Dr. Talib, a plastic surgery resident traveling with the group, read the preflight safety briefing in Arabic. Members of the crew reassured nervous passengers that the oxygen masks were only necessary in case of emergency.

The passengers recited a brief prayer as the plane began to taxi.

“We’re asking God for safe passage to Iraq,” explained one of the parents.

The prayer was repeated several times with increasing urgency and volume as the plane accelerated down the runway and lifted off. One Iraqi woman quietly fingered her prayer beads and hugged her daughter tightly as the plane began its rapid ascent.

“This is turning out to be a rewarding mission,” said Lt. Col. Chris Carlsen, the aircraft commander. “You see all the children with the smiles on their faces. I’m glad to be a part of this. It’s a historic and beneficial event for the Iraqi people.”

Airman 1st Class Alexis Elliott, a loadmaster for the C-17, agreed.

“It makes me feel like I’m really helping to do something important,” said Airman Elliott, who is on her first deployment with the Air Force.

As the plane landed, taxied and came to a halt at Baghdad International Airport’s passenger terminal, the faces of the Iraqi children and their parents explained very clearly what Operation Smile is all about. One jubilant father exited the plane, dropped to his knees and kissed the ground, although it was not clear whether he was celebrating his return to Iraq or just happy to be back on solid ground.

“The bottom line is that the military is really trying to do what it can to help,” said Mr. Anderson. “The support was a great match for us.”