Afghan Air Force Returns from Pakistan flood Relief Mission

More than a month after they rescued 2,100 people from rising flood waters in Laghman province, members of the Afghan Air Force returned home Sept. 4, 2010, from all Afghan-run humanitarian flood relief mission in Pakistan.

Welcomed at Kabul International Airport by Afghan Lt. Gen. Sher Mohammad Karimi, Afghan National Army chief of staff, the 22 crewmembers were recognized for their efforts in delivering food, water and first aid equipment to displaced flood victims. Flooding in Pakistan, one of the worst in the country’s history, has affected almost 14 million people, leaving eight million dependent on international aid and killing an estimated 1,600.

“We are ready to help serve not only our country but our neighbors as well. Even though Afghanistan is facing its own problems, according to Islamic culture, we must help our neighbors. We want to be able to help in any situation,” said Karimi.

For the past 26 days, the AAF crew participated in a three-part mission – rescue, relief supplies and logistical movements. They flew four Mi-17s in more than 400 sorties, moving 1,904 passengers and aid workers and rescuing 120 stranded residents. They also delivered more than 188 tons of food, medical equipment and shelter supplies.

“We were very glad that we were able to help the poor people who were stuck in the water, said AAF Maj. Mohammad Dawod, a flight engineer who participated in the mission. “We did our job very honestly. We saw the people in the water; most of them were on the top of their roofs and they had nowhere to go. We tried our best to help them.”

The relief effort demonstrates how far the Afghan Air Force has progressed during the last year. Since the NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan command stood up in November, the AAF has grown to almost 5,000 airmen and 50 aircraft. When the same rains that caused flooding in Afghanistan began effecting Pakistan, the two nations talked and President Hamid Karzai offered the use of AAF assets for flood relief efforts.

"This is a proud moment for the Afghan Air Force and the people of Afghanistan to know that their Air Force now has the capability, along with a caring spirit, to assist its neighbor Pakistan during one of the worst floods in Pakistan's history,” said Lt. Gen. William B. Caldwell, IV, commanding general of NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan.

Caldwell added, “This transition to independence highlights a building block in strengthening the Afghan National Security Forces. I beam with pride for the Afghan Air Force, the Afghan people and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The pilots and crews of the Mi-17 helicopters who flew these missions during the last 27 days deserve the highest praise from all nations."

“I knew that they were ready to perform this mission on their own,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Boera, commander Combined Air Power Transition Force and 438th Expeditionary Wing. “And that’s what we let them do; there were no NATO advisors with them on this mission. The Pakistan maintainers and logisticians gave them the necessary support they needed but it was the aircrew and medical personal from Afghanistan who went over to perform this mission and they did it admirably.”