Then another siren went off and an automatic-pilot mechanical voice started screaming, "Altitude! Altitude! Altitude!" I'm gonna sit in the back of the plane on the way back.
Holy cow! There's the runway. And then the pilot floated this thousand-ton sucker down and in like a leaf. And my out-of-body experience was over. For now.
We landed right next to a cabbage patch. And a golf course.
Back at the Boy Scout camp at Schoonover, I had asked one colonel about the training required to be in this wing. "Most of the people here come already trained in their specialty. We just hone their skills."
"Do people volunteer to serve in this wing?"
"Actually, yes. They like the adventure and the variety. We go all over the world at the drop of a hat. It beats working at a desk job or staying in one place for a whole tour of duty." I know what he means. Back home I get bored. But I'm certainly not bored now. Terrified, but not bored.
Then we got out of the plane and we were in Salinas. Oh. Salinas is famous for its lettuce. Hence the cabbage patch.
"Here at the Salinas municipal airport, it is a more urban environment," minus the cabbage, "giving us a chance to train while trying to fit our operation to already-existing infrastructure," said another colonel. Then they showed us more air-evac training, using manikins on stretchers to practice loading disaster victims onto the plane.
Another CRW colonel joined our briefing. "We haven't played one round of golf since we've been here, honest!" he joked. "With only 120 people in our wing, we still have the tasking capabilities to work 24 hours a day for 60 days. Our mission here is to accept cargo and keep the planes running in and out. But we do not distribute relief supplies as a general rule -- the NGOs do that. Also, in an emergency disaster situation, victims will try to get to airports because they know that's where relief supplies will be coming in, so we have to work with that factor as well. And we do all that with just 120 people.
"Salinas is an example of a permissive, improved area. Here we have the CRW and we also have the Kentucky National Guard helping out too. Salinas airport has offered us complete support for this operation and the Kentucky Guard is learning how to coordinate with our planes coming in and out." This particular Guard unit works out of Louisville, where UPS has its main office. "So, many of these Guardsmen work for UPS and know the tracking technology already."
Then the Kentucky Guard colonel spoke up. "We already understand very well the actual airlift operation itself. We were in Somalia, Bosnia and Zaire." So apparently being here today in order to learn how to coordinate with the Air Force CRW is important -- but they already showed up knowing how to move their bottoms FAST when the spit hits the fan.
"Any questions?"
"Yes. Where is the ladies' room?" And they lead me to the most fancy port-a-potty I've ever seen. Unbelievable. A sink, a flush toilet, a mirror, the works. I was so impressed I took a picture of it.
Then I had a nice conversation with one Kentucky Guardsman. "We are a very active unit. We were first responders for Katrina and 9-11 as well as for overseas. We also work with the drug demand reduction program." When not on active duty, he is employed by Toyota and apparently Toyota is very liberal in its commitment to letting its employees serve.
"I myself only serve three or four weeks a year but many of our guys serve three or four months a year. But we work alongside regular full-time Army personnel and our skill sets are up to their standards."
"Does your unit have a nickname? Like the Marines' Devil Dogs or something?"
Holy cow! There's the runway. And then the pilot floated this thousand-ton sucker down and in like a leaf. And my out-of-body experience was over. For now.
We landed right next to a cabbage patch. And a golf course.
Back at the Boy Scout camp at Schoonover, I had asked one colonel about the training required to be in this wing. "Most of the people here come already trained in their specialty. We just hone their skills."
"Actually, yes. They like the adventure and the variety. We go all over the world at the drop of a hat. It beats working at a desk job or staying in one place for a whole tour of duty." I know what he means. Back home I get bored. But I'm certainly not bored now. Terrified, but not bored.
Then we got out of the plane and we were in Salinas. Oh. Salinas is famous for its lettuce. Hence the cabbage patch.
"Here at the Salinas municipal airport, it is a more urban environment," minus the cabbage, "giving us a chance to train while trying to fit our operation to already-existing infrastructure," said another colonel. Then they showed us more air-evac training, using manikins on stretchers to practice loading disaster victims onto the plane.
Another CRW colonel joined our briefing. "We haven't played one round of golf since we've been here, honest!" he joked. "With only 120 people in our wing, we still have the tasking capabilities to work 24 hours a day for 60 days. Our mission here is to accept cargo and keep the planes running in and out. But we do not distribute relief supplies as a general rule -- the NGOs do that. Also, in an emergency disaster situation, victims will try to get to airports because they know that's where relief supplies will be coming in, so we have to work with that factor as well. And we do all that with just 120 people.
"Salinas is an example of a permissive, improved area. Here we have the CRW and we also have the Kentucky National Guard helping out too. Salinas airport has offered us complete support for this operation and the Kentucky Guard is learning how to coordinate with our planes coming in and out." This particular Guard unit works out of Louisville, where UPS has its main office. "So, many of these Guardsmen work for UPS and know the tracking technology already."
Then the Kentucky Guard colonel spoke up. "We already understand very well the actual airlift operation itself. We were in Somalia, Bosnia and Zaire." So apparently being here today in order to learn how to coordinate with the Air Force CRW is important -- but they already showed up knowing how to move their bottoms FAST when the spit hits the fan.
"Any questions?"
"Yes. Where is the ladies' room?" And they lead me to the most fancy port-a-potty I've ever seen. Unbelievable. A sink, a flush toilet, a mirror, the works. I was so impressed I took a picture of it.
Then I had a nice conversation with one Kentucky Guardsman. "We are a very active unit. We were first responders for Katrina and 9-11 as well as for overseas. We also work with the drug demand reduction program." When not on active duty, he is employed by Toyota and apparently Toyota is very liberal in its commitment to letting its employees serve.
"I myself only serve three or four weeks a year but many of our guys serve three or four months a year. But we work alongside regular full-time Army personnel and our skill sets are up to their standards."
"Does your unit have a nickname? Like the Marines' Devil Dogs or something?"
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