Trip_Wire (RIP)
12-03-2004, 14:06
I thought this was a pretty good read, so I'm passing it on! TW :(
November 25th, 2004
I want to share with you my most recent Air Force Reserve trip. I had
decided to go back into the Air Force Reserves as a part time reservist and
after 6 months of training, I have recently been promoted to Lieutenant
Colonel and have been fully mission qualified as an Aircraft Commander of a
KC-135R strato tanker aircraft.
On Friday of last week, my crew and I were tasked with a mission to provide
air refueling support in order to tanker 6 F-16's over to Incirlik Air Base
in Turkey. We were then to tanker back to the states, 6 more F-16's that
were due maintenance. It started out as a fairly standard mission - one
that I have done many times as an active duty Captain in my former jet - the
KC10a extender.
We dragged the F-16's to Moron Air Base in Spain where we spent the night
and then finished the first part of our mission the next day by successfully
delivering them to Incirlik. When I got on the ground in Turkey, I received
a message to call the Tanker Airlift Control Center that my mission would
change. Instead of tankering the F-16's that were due maintenance, I was
cut new orders to fly to Kuwait City and pick up 22 "HR's" and return them
to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
It had been a while since I had heard of the term "HR" used, and as I
pondered what the acronym could possibly stand for, when it dawned on me
that it stood for human remains. There were 22 fallen comrades who had just
been killed in the most recent attacks in Fallujah and Baghdad, Iraq over
the last week.
I immediately alerted the crew of the mission change and although they were
exhausted due to an ocean crossing, the time change and minimum ground time
in Spain for crew rest, we all agreed that it was more important to get
these men back to their families as soon as possible.
We were scheduled to crew rest in Incirlik, Turkey for the evening and start
the mission the next day. Instead, we decided to extend/continue our day
and fly to Kuwait in order to pick up our precious cargo. While on the
flight over to Kuwait, I knew that there were protocol procedures for
accepting and caring for human remains, however, in my 13 years of active
duty service, I never once had to refer to this regulation. As I read the
regulation on the flight over, I felt prepared and ready to do the mission.
My game plan was to pick up the HR's and turn around to fly to Mildenhal Air
Base in England, spend the night, and then fly back the next day. This was
the quickest way to get them home, considering the maximum crew duty day
that I could subject my crew to legally and physically. I really pushed
them to the limits but no one complained at all.
I thought that I was prepared for the acceptance of these men until we
landed at Kuwait International. I taxied the jet over to a staging area
where the honor guard was waiting to load our soldiers. I stopped the jet
and the entire crew was required to stay on board. We opened the cargo
door, and according to procedure, I had the crew line up in the back of the
aircraft in formation and stand at attention. As the cargo loader brought
up the first pallet of caskets, I ordered the crew to "Present Arms."
Normally, we would snap a salute at this command, however, when you are
dealing with a fallen soldier, the salute is a slow 3 second pace to
position. As I stood there and finally saw the first four of twenty-two
caskets draped with the American Flags, the reality had hit me. As the
Marine Corps honor guard delivered the first pallet on board, I then ordered
the crew to "Order Arms" - where they rendered an equally slow 3 second
return to the attention position. I then commanded the crew to assume an at
ease position and directed them to properly place the pallet. The protocol
requires that the caskets are to be loaded so when it comes time to exit the
aircraft - they will go head first. We did this same procedure for each and
every pallet until we could not fit any more.
I felt a deep pit in my stomach when there were more caskets to be brought
home and that they would have to wait for the next jet to come through. I
tried to do everything in my power to bring more home but I had no more
space on board. When we were finally loaded, with our precious cargo and
fueled for the trip back to England, a Marine Corps Colonel from first
battalion came on board our jet in order to talk to us. I gathered the crew
to listen to him and his words of wisdom.
He introduced himself and said that it is the motto of the Marines to leave
no man behind and it makes their job easier knowing that there were men like
us to help them complete this task. He was very grateful for our help and
the strings that we were pulling in order to get this mission done in the
most expeditious manner possible. He then said -" Major Zarnik - these are
MY MARINES and I am giving them to you. Please take great care of them as I
know you will." I responded with telling him that they are my highest
priority and that although this was one of the saddest days of my life, we
are all up for the challenge and will go above and beyond to take care of
your Marines - "Semper Fi Sir" A smile came on his face and he responded
with a loud and thunderous, "Ooo Rah". He then asked me to please pass
along to the families that these men were extremely brave and had made the
ultimate sacrifice for their country and that we appreciate and empathize
with what they are going through at this time of their grievance. With
that, he departed the jet and we were on our way to England.
I had a lot of time to think about the men that I had the privilege to
carry. I had a chance to read the manifest on each and every one of them.
I read about their religious preferences, their marital status, the injuries
that were their cause of death. All of them were under age 27 with most in
the 18-24 range. Most of them had wives and children. They had all been
killed by an " IED" which I can only deduce as an [improvised] explosive
devices. Mostly fatal head injuries and injuries to the chest area. I
could not even imagine the bravery that they must have displayed and the
agony suffered in this God Forsaken War. My respect and admiration for
these men and what they are doing to help others in a foreign land is beyond
calculation. I know that they are all with God now and in a better place.
The stop in Mildenhal was uneventful and then we pressed on to Dover where
we would meet the receiving Marine Corps honor guard. When we arrived, we
applied the same procedures in reverse. The head of each casket was to come
out first. This was a sign of respect rather than defeat. As the honor
guard carried each and every American flag covered casket off of the jet,
they delivered them to awaiting families with military hearses. I was
extremely impressed with how diligent the Honor Guard had performed the
seemingly endless task of delivering each of the caskets to the families
without fail and with precision. There was not a dry eye on our crew or in
the crowd. The Chaplain then said a prayer followed by a speech from Lt.
Col. Klaus of the second Battalion. In his speech, he also reiterated
similar condolences to the families as the Colonel from First Battalion back
in Kuwait.
I then went out to speak with the families as I felt it was my duty to help
console them in this difficult time. Although I would probably be one of
the last military contacts that they would have for a while - the military
tends to take care of it's own. I wanted to make sure that they did not feel
abandoned and more than that appreciated for their ultimate sacrifice. It
was the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life. I listened
to the stories of each and every one that I had come in contact with and
they all displayed a sense of pride during an obviously difficult time. The
Marine Corps had obviously prepared their families well for this potential
outcome.
So, why do I write this story to you all? I just wanted to put a little
personal attention to the numbers that you hear about and see in the media.
It is almost like we are desensitized by the "numbers" of our fallen
comrades coming out of Iraq. I heard one commentator say that "it is just a
number". Are you kidding me? These are our American Soldiers not numbers!
It is truly a sad situation that I hope will end soon. Please hug and
embrace your loved ones a little closer and know that there are men out
there that are defending you and trying to make this a better world. Please
pray for their families and when you hear the latest statistic's and numbers
of our soldiers killed in combat, please remember this story. It is the
only way that I know to more personalize these figures and have them truly
mean something to us all.
Thanks for all of your support for me and my family as I take on this new
role in completing my Air Force Career and supporting our country. I
greatly appreciate all of your comments, gestures and prayers.
May God Bless America, us all, and especially the United States Marine
Corps.
Semper Fi
Maj. Zarnik, USAFR
Major Zarnik
November 25th, 2004
I want to share with you my most recent Air Force Reserve trip. I had
decided to go back into the Air Force Reserves as a part time reservist and
after 6 months of training, I have recently been promoted to Lieutenant
Colonel and have been fully mission qualified as an Aircraft Commander of a
KC-135R strato tanker aircraft.
On Friday of last week, my crew and I were tasked with a mission to provide
air refueling support in order to tanker 6 F-16's over to Incirlik Air Base
in Turkey. We were then to tanker back to the states, 6 more F-16's that
were due maintenance. It started out as a fairly standard mission - one
that I have done many times as an active duty Captain in my former jet - the
KC10a extender.
We dragged the F-16's to Moron Air Base in Spain where we spent the night
and then finished the first part of our mission the next day by successfully
delivering them to Incirlik. When I got on the ground in Turkey, I received
a message to call the Tanker Airlift Control Center that my mission would
change. Instead of tankering the F-16's that were due maintenance, I was
cut new orders to fly to Kuwait City and pick up 22 "HR's" and return them
to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
It had been a while since I had heard of the term "HR" used, and as I
pondered what the acronym could possibly stand for, when it dawned on me
that it stood for human remains. There were 22 fallen comrades who had just
been killed in the most recent attacks in Fallujah and Baghdad, Iraq over
the last week.
I immediately alerted the crew of the mission change and although they were
exhausted due to an ocean crossing, the time change and minimum ground time
in Spain for crew rest, we all agreed that it was more important to get
these men back to their families as soon as possible.
We were scheduled to crew rest in Incirlik, Turkey for the evening and start
the mission the next day. Instead, we decided to extend/continue our day
and fly to Kuwait in order to pick up our precious cargo. While on the
flight over to Kuwait, I knew that there were protocol procedures for
accepting and caring for human remains, however, in my 13 years of active
duty service, I never once had to refer to this regulation. As I read the
regulation on the flight over, I felt prepared and ready to do the mission.
My game plan was to pick up the HR's and turn around to fly to Mildenhal Air
Base in England, spend the night, and then fly back the next day. This was
the quickest way to get them home, considering the maximum crew duty day
that I could subject my crew to legally and physically. I really pushed
them to the limits but no one complained at all.
I thought that I was prepared for the acceptance of these men until we
landed at Kuwait International. I taxied the jet over to a staging area
where the honor guard was waiting to load our soldiers. I stopped the jet
and the entire crew was required to stay on board. We opened the cargo
door, and according to procedure, I had the crew line up in the back of the
aircraft in formation and stand at attention. As the cargo loader brought
up the first pallet of caskets, I ordered the crew to "Present Arms."
Normally, we would snap a salute at this command, however, when you are
dealing with a fallen soldier, the salute is a slow 3 second pace to
position. As I stood there and finally saw the first four of twenty-two
caskets draped with the American Flags, the reality had hit me. As the
Marine Corps honor guard delivered the first pallet on board, I then ordered
the crew to "Order Arms" - where they rendered an equally slow 3 second
return to the attention position. I then commanded the crew to assume an at
ease position and directed them to properly place the pallet. The protocol
requires that the caskets are to be loaded so when it comes time to exit the
aircraft - they will go head first. We did this same procedure for each and
every pallet until we could not fit any more.
I felt a deep pit in my stomach when there were more caskets to be brought
home and that they would have to wait for the next jet to come through. I
tried to do everything in my power to bring more home but I had no more
space on board. When we were finally loaded, with our precious cargo and
fueled for the trip back to England, a Marine Corps Colonel from first
battalion came on board our jet in order to talk to us. I gathered the crew
to listen to him and his words of wisdom.
He introduced himself and said that it is the motto of the Marines to leave
no man behind and it makes their job easier knowing that there were men like
us to help them complete this task. He was very grateful for our help and
the strings that we were pulling in order to get this mission done in the
most expeditious manner possible. He then said -" Major Zarnik - these are
MY MARINES and I am giving them to you. Please take great care of them as I
know you will." I responded with telling him that they are my highest
priority and that although this was one of the saddest days of my life, we
are all up for the challenge and will go above and beyond to take care of
your Marines - "Semper Fi Sir" A smile came on his face and he responded
with a loud and thunderous, "Ooo Rah". He then asked me to please pass
along to the families that these men were extremely brave and had made the
ultimate sacrifice for their country and that we appreciate and empathize
with what they are going through at this time of their grievance. With
that, he departed the jet and we were on our way to England.
I had a lot of time to think about the men that I had the privilege to
carry. I had a chance to read the manifest on each and every one of them.
I read about their religious preferences, their marital status, the injuries
that were their cause of death. All of them were under age 27 with most in
the 18-24 range. Most of them had wives and children. They had all been
killed by an " IED" which I can only deduce as an [improvised] explosive
devices. Mostly fatal head injuries and injuries to the chest area. I
could not even imagine the bravery that they must have displayed and the
agony suffered in this God Forsaken War. My respect and admiration for
these men and what they are doing to help others in a foreign land is beyond
calculation. I know that they are all with God now and in a better place.
The stop in Mildenhal was uneventful and then we pressed on to Dover where
we would meet the receiving Marine Corps honor guard. When we arrived, we
applied the same procedures in reverse. The head of each casket was to come
out first. This was a sign of respect rather than defeat. As the honor
guard carried each and every American flag covered casket off of the jet,
they delivered them to awaiting families with military hearses. I was
extremely impressed with how diligent the Honor Guard had performed the
seemingly endless task of delivering each of the caskets to the families
without fail and with precision. There was not a dry eye on our crew or in
the crowd. The Chaplain then said a prayer followed by a speech from Lt.
Col. Klaus of the second Battalion. In his speech, he also reiterated
similar condolences to the families as the Colonel from First Battalion back
in Kuwait.
I then went out to speak with the families as I felt it was my duty to help
console them in this difficult time. Although I would probably be one of
the last military contacts that they would have for a while - the military
tends to take care of it's own. I wanted to make sure that they did not feel
abandoned and more than that appreciated for their ultimate sacrifice. It
was the most difficult thing that I have ever done in my life. I listened
to the stories of each and every one that I had come in contact with and
they all displayed a sense of pride during an obviously difficult time. The
Marine Corps had obviously prepared their families well for this potential
outcome.
So, why do I write this story to you all? I just wanted to put a little
personal attention to the numbers that you hear about and see in the media.
It is almost like we are desensitized by the "numbers" of our fallen
comrades coming out of Iraq. I heard one commentator say that "it is just a
number". Are you kidding me? These are our American Soldiers not numbers!
It is truly a sad situation that I hope will end soon. Please hug and
embrace your loved ones a little closer and know that there are men out
there that are defending you and trying to make this a better world. Please
pray for their families and when you hear the latest statistic's and numbers
of our soldiers killed in combat, please remember this story. It is the
only way that I know to more personalize these figures and have them truly
mean something to us all.
Thanks for all of your support for me and my family as I take on this new
role in completing my Air Force Career and supporting our country. I
greatly appreciate all of your comments, gestures and prayers.
May God Bless America, us all, and especially the United States Marine
Corps.
Semper Fi
Maj. Zarnik, USAFR
Major Zarnik