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Airmen transport wounded Libyan fighters to U.S.

by Sarah Olaciregui
66th Air Base Group Public Affairs

11/1/2011 - BOSTON, Mass. (AFNS) -- Nearly two dozen wounded Libyan fighters were evacuated from Libya to here Oct. 29 aboard a C-17 Globemaster III.

At the request of State Department officials, the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta directed two missions supporting the humanitarian assistance effort in Libya.

In the first mission, four wounded fighters were transported to medical facilities in Europe by an aircrew piloting a C-130J Super Hercules, assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, officials said. An Air National Guard aircrew piloting a C-17, assigned to the 172nd Airlift Wing out of Jackson, Miss., carried out the second mission, landing at Boston Logan International Airport in the midst of a massive winter storm after a nearly 13 hour flight from Libya.

The Libyan Transitional National Council requested the transport of fighters to American medical facilities because their injuries could not be treated in Libya, officials said. The patients will be treated at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, Mass., before returning to their country.

"We want to make sure these brave young men are able to return to their country to enjoy the freedom they so valiantly fought for," said David Storto, the president of the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. Storto noted the success of the operation was due to a tight partnership between his organization, the Department of State and the Department of Defense, especially the Air Force.

The aircrew for this flight, which flies three weekly aeromedical evacuation missions to the Middle East, has transported more than 20,000 patients since 2005, the officials said.

"(Aeromedical evacuation) is something our wing has committed to," said Col. James Hartline, the 172nd Operations Group commander. "We're proud that the Air National Guard can contribute to this total force effort."

Hartline noted that aeromedical evacuation not only saves lives, but also demonstrates America's support and goodwill to nations that are fighting for freedom.