Answering the call for Obama

Published Jan. 9, 2014
By Senior Airman Charles V. Rivezzo
60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- While attending Travis' annual holiday lighting ceremony Dec. 5, surrounded by his wife and children, the call came across Lt. Col. Thad Middleton's Blackberry stating he needed to be on the other side of the globe within a few hours.

For Middleton, who serves as the 9th Air Refueling Squadron commander, this was a call he expected to receive - he just didn't know when.

When it comes to a tasking for Air Mobility Command, this is a situation far too familiar, as the command prides itself on accomplishing the mission anytime, anywhere and at a moment's notice.

The mission for Middleton was to lead a joint-team of Airmen, service members from the Royal Air Force and civilian contractors in support of President Barack Obama's visit to South Africa for the memorial service of Nelson Mandela.

Located in the south Atlantic Ocean, a small, remote island was used as the staging point for all mobility airlift operations, ensuring a wide-range of presidential support and equipment made its way into South Africa prior to the president's arrival.

"If you were to look at a globe, the island is so small that you can't even see any land mass, just writing that says Ascension Island," said Maj. Delvin Williams, Ascension Auxiliary Field commander.

Serving as a strategic location during World War II, the tiny Atlantic island encompasses just 47 nautical miles and boasts only three active-duty Airmen who serve on the island full time.

As the commander of operations for the mobility portion of the presidential support mission, Middleton oversaw a week-long operation which incorporated six KC-10 Extenders from both Travis and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and roughly 27 C-17 Globemaster IIIs from various units throughout the world.

In a matter of 48 hours, the normally tranquil island transformed into a major military aircraft hub, performing an aggressive 24/7 stage operation, moving equipment and passengers to and from Africa in preparation for the president's official visit to the African continent.

"This being a bare base, the support services in place are not used to seeing a mass movement of this magnitude," Middleton said. "From the moment our Airmen touched down on the base, they began to spin up aircraft operations before they even had a chance to put their belongings away or catch a few hours of sleep.

"When it comes to supporting a presidential mission, the pressure is on to ensure our objectives are accomplished on time. Our Airmen embraced that moment and executed the mission at the highest level."

Furthermore because Ascension Island is a British territory, Middleton added the international partnership with the RAF was a crucial component to mission success.

However, no bigger compliment was given than the one Middleton bestowed upon the Airmen that executed the mission.

"We called ourselves Team Ascension, and the Airmen really were the ones who made the mission happen," he said. "There is no place in the world we can't go that our guys wouldn't be comfortable or capable of operating in.

"So the next time the Air Force is called upon short notice, you know our Airmen have that sense of confidence that they can go out there and do anything."

Mandela memorial service