***Our July 9th meeting will be at the Petite Auberge at 12 o: clock.  REVEREND CLAUDE SMITHMIER will swear in your newly elected officers.  There might just be a humorous story or two to go along with the festivities.  You can assure your reservations by calling early to 770-638-8801.

***Commander SAM STEGER, on July 9th, will add another notch to his list of accomplishments.  He can add PC after his name and take satisfaction in knowing that under his command Post 134 increased it’s participation in BOYS STATE, held it’s first ORATORICAL CONTEST and perhaps most important of all stopped the decrease in membership.  Congratulations Commander for a job well done.  

*** YOUR NEW SLATE OF OFFICERS
COMMANDER                                              RAMON GARCIA
SENIOR VICE COMMANDER                        CHARLES CAPPS
JUNIOR VICE COMMANDER                        TODD COPLEY
ADJUTANT                                                    HERMAN ABERNATHY
FINANCE OFFICER                                       BRYANT ROLAND
CHAPLAIN                                                    HARRY MAHONEY
HISTORIAN                                                   WILLIAM BAKER
SERVICE OFFICER                                            JOHN KAPSAROFF 

JAMES IVEY, WALTER MAYFIELD AND ROBERT MOORE WILL SERVE ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR THREE YEARS. WARREN SEWELL, A MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, HAS ASKED FOR A LEAVE OF ABSENSE.  HE WILL BE REPLACED BY FRED VIELE  

***The state AMERICAN LEGION MEETING was held the last part of June at the Marriott Hotel in Duluth.  POST 134 was more than ably represented by COMMANDER, SAM STEGER and ADJUTANT, HERMAN ABERNATHY and KAREN ABERNATHY, who by the way are a brand new member of Post 201 Auxiliary. 

 Thanks to the hard work by many of you, Post 134 was awarded a POST EXCELLENCE AWARD.   The Commander will have more to tell us about the award at the July meeting.  

***SICK CALL
CHARLES WILLS, after first breaking his ankle is now under going chemo.No fun says he, and we can all agree. 
CHARLIE SHEPHERD, after having a procedure of sorts on his knees, says his back has quit hurting, but his knees are still giving him fits.  He doesn’t understand it and neither do the doctors.  At any rate after an extended time in a rehab facility, he is now home and complaining.  We take this as good news.
BILL MARTIN was recently discharged from Emory and has now taken temporary lodging at Wesley Woods.  He hopes to break out within a week.   
VIC MAHONEY is out of the hospital and looking chipper.  You can’t keep a good Irishman down.                

 ***Is the man cheap or smart? Let me tell you a story and you decide. I had a call recently, from GEORGE HOOTEN, editor of the BUGLE CALL RAG, asking if I wanted to help with the “Rag.”  Right away, visions danced in my head.  I imagined he was looking for an assistant.  Surely this would mean an important title.  Assistant Editor came to mind immediately, followed by a handsome salary, of course.  And when he asked me to lunch at BONES, I knew this was the big time. 

Over lunch George said he thought I could be good at licking stamps, folding papers and other sundry duties that he would assign.  Suspense was building.  He needed to get to the title and salary part.  Shortly, he asked if I knew how BEN FRANKLIN got into the publishing business. WOW! The man really has plans for me. He went on to say that Ben’s first job was as a “PRINTERS DEVIL” and that was where I should start.  Now printer’s devil is not as good as assistant editor, but if Ben started there, I could too. 

I asked about the starting pay.   He said that Ben started as an apprentice and he thought I should start there also.  He was quick to say that I shouldn’t be concerned about paying him for my apprenticeship training.  He said I could do chores around his house such as mowing his lawn and other such duties to make up what I owed.  I saw right away that my idea of a well paying job just went out the window, but at least there would be no money out of my pocket and I would be a printer’s devil and an apprentice just like Ben. 

After I accepted his offer, he asked if I was ready for my first assignment.  Eager to start, I jumped at the chance.  He told me that I could pick up the check.  The bill was $64.50.   He also mentioned that I should furnish my own computer and lawn mower. 

So there you have it folks.  Is he cheap or smart?  I vote for smart.  This was written by the new printer’s devil, and it doesn’t stand a devil’s chance of getting past the editor. 

Oh yes, George did ask me to tell you that the BUGLE CALL RAG is your paper and that your ideas and suggestions are welcomed.  Also if you have an article that you would like to write, please do so.  We will publish as many as possible.  There is much more to be written on this subject, but I have to finish his lawn first.

I don’t like torture.  When I think of torture, I’m medieval about it.  I think of torture as kneecap busting, eye-gouging, finger nail pulling, face pummeling, genitalia squeezing --you know, really painful, bloody, scream-producing acts enjoyed by sadists.  It hurts just to list such cruelty.   

I don’t like Islamic extremists hijacking our airliners and using them as missiles to explode into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and that field in Pennsylvania.  These fanatic religionists slaughtered innocent thousands out of hatred.  That breed has been padding young men and women with explosives and sending them into buildings and crowds of their own kind to rend them into torn parts. It enrages me to think of such madness in the name of Allah.          

Some hundreds of these terrorists were captured and turned over to American authorities.  They have been labeled “detainees” and housed at Gitmo where our intelligence gatherers have been seeking information from them.  According to reports, our people used “enhanced interrogation” methods on some of the detainees.  It is now a battle of semantics.            

The word “torture” is being used by people in high places and by eloquent writers in the print media to portray our actions at Gitmo.  Our political leaders now condemn what had been previously nodded knowledge.  The condemnation is hinged on to the expression: “We are a nation of laws.”  The rhetoric of indignation has a rim of hypocrisy.          

Reports through the years that Gitmo has been in operation reveal that all kinds of organizations from the U.S. and Europe have visited Gitmo on inspection tours.  The use of “torture” must have been well hidden.  None of these outfits spelled out dirty deeds.  Many of them simply called for the closing of the place.  Now we hear that some detainees were water-boarded; some were sleep deprived at times; some were frightened by short-leached dogs; some were manacled to stand erect for stretches of time.  The list of what is being labeled as torture may grow with time and imagination.          

I’m not joining in the debate.  I’d be outgunned.  I don’t like torture.  I don’t like terrorists.  I don’t like our political leaders beating their breasts in contrition before the world.  I like the results of our intelligence people in keeping us safe here since 2001.  I like the idea of keeping Gitmo open.  I like the keeping of terrorists under lock and key.

*** With great sadness, we remember the passing of ALAN SHEALY who passed away in April.  Alan was a regular attendee at Post meetings, always at the Baptist table.  He was the secretary of the Alert Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church in Decatur for 44 years.  He will be missed. 

***We also note the passing of MARSHALL COOPER, a long time member of our Post and a good friend.  Marshall died at age 83.  The truth is he just wore out.  Too many parts going wrong at the same time.  He will be missed. 

***Y’ALL plan to be at the PETITE AUBERGE at noon on June 11th to congratulate HERMAN ABERNATHY.  He has been elected to be the Junior Vice Commander of District 5.  This is a very large job that will require many hours and much travel as he must visit 21 Posts during his tenure. It has been a long time since one of our own has been elected to an office outside of our Post.  A handshake and a Heineken are in order when you see him.   

*** We were glad to see ROBERT NEWTON, a new member, at the April and May  meeting with  his lovely wife. MILDRED.  We trust this will be a regular monthly trip in from Sharpsburg. 

*** We had a special guest at the April meeting brought to us by HAP CHANDLER.  Producer, Director RICHARD D. LANNI, who lives and works in NORMANDY, has produced a 44 minute video titled “THE AMERICANS ON D-DAY.”  Lanni came to Atlanta to see Hap after an appearance on WOR, New York.  He will travel next to Louisiana to research the remnants of WW II POW Camps there, then on to Hollywood to the AMERICAN LEGION POST # 43 for the first public screening of his film.  

The video tells some of the stories of the American efforts on that fateful day thru a single actor who is also a noted battlefield historian in Normandy.  He also incorporates remembrances of some of the people who lived through those times. Thru the video you will land in Ste. Mere Eglise with the 82nd Airborne, scale the cliffs at La Pointe du Hoc with the Rangers, wade thru the surf on Omaha Beach with the 29th Infantry Division and take the guns at Brecourt Manor with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry.  

This is an intriguing film that is well worth your attention and purchase.  A group from Post 134 purchased several copies to be sold to our Post members and to other Legion Posts throughout Georgia.  $25.00 is the price and you may get a copy from SAM STEGER, RAMON GARCIA, HERMAN ABERNATHY OR CHARLES CAPPS at the Executive Committee or Regular meeting in May.  For those of you who cannot attend the regular meetings, delivery is free and personalized.  ALL PROFITS GO TO POST 134.   

***You will want to know that our Post is sponsoring 5 boys to go to BOYS STATE this year.  TOMMY THOMPSON  says this is an unusually strong group of young men.  ***RAMON GARCIA has been selected to serve on the advisory board for the GEORGIA NATIONAL CEMETARY in Canton, Georgia.  Congratulations are in order next time you see him.  

***There were 43 members and guests present at the May meeting to hear MAJOR DANIEL McARTHUR GADE speak and what a speech he gave.  Many of those present have asked for a copy of his speech.  You can get a copy on the internet by contacting  me at or 770-638-8801 and I will send a paper copy to you.  DANIEL GADE is a West Point graduate.  He was wounded twice in IRAC.  He is now completing his Doctorate degree at the University of Georgia with plans to teach at West Point. A very special note to this story is that this terrific young man is the son-in-law of our regular member RON WILLIAMS.     

***We have another special guest for the June 11th meeting.  DAVID BURDETTE is a member of Post 325.  He is active in all phases of THE AMERICAN LEGION.  He will bring us up to date on all that is happening.  

***Saturday, May 23 was the MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY at the National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia.  Post 134 was represented by RALPH MOOR, HERMAN ABERNATHY and RAMON GARCIA who placed the Post 134 wreath. 

***Again this year the MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONIES were held in Marietta at the National Cemetery.  COMMANDER SAM STEGER graced the stage and HERMAN ABERNATHY place our wreath.  

It is an absolute pleasure to be your guest speaker today. However, as I was preparing my comments, I briefly considered calling Ron and telling him that I just couldn’t come today, and letting him give one of his trademark hilarious speeches. I hold all the cards, after all: I’m married to his daughter and his three grandchildren look just like me. But then I thought about Ron Williams the soldier, and decided to go ahead and make the trip today.

I imagine him sweating under 20 pounds of military payment certificates during what must have been a harrowing tour in Vietnam. I imagine the discomfort of his second R&R- both taken during his one and only tour in Vietnam. I’ve served with and tried to lead soldiers like Ron- they are a pleasure to serve with- lots of laughs- and a nightmare to lead! So the real reason I came here today was to finally meet those who had the strength to lead him in combat. I can learn something from you all!

All joking aside, I believe that there are really two kinds of people in America- those who have seen the elephant and those who haven’t. And even though every one’s service experience is different, the fact is that all of you were willing to don the uniform of your country and most of you have experienced enemy fire- and I salute you. You are all part of a long history of patriots who put their country above themselves.

As you may know, I am little more than a carpet bagger in these parts. The sum total of my Georgia experience is spending some blissful time in the mountains during Ranger School, and my current educational endeavors at UGA. My wife should have been kicked out of polite society in Atlanta for marrying a man wearing Union Blue in the heart of the south.

I have been proud to be a professional soldier since I was 17 years old. I graduated from West Point in 1997, and was commissioned as an Armor officer. I’ve led soldiers at the platoon level-twice, and was a company commander for 2 years and 3 days. Of that, 6 months was in combat in Iraq.

During my 6 months in Iraq, I led my company on dozens of raids and through numerous firefights, and was wounded twice. The first time was by an RPG fired at my tank during a firefight. That RPG killed a wonderful soldier named Dennis Miller, and wounded me. 2 months later, I was critically injured during another patrol by an IED that exploded under my Humvee.

Although I’m a proud Army officer and no real fan of the other services, my rescue from the ditch in Ramadi to where I’m standing today involved every military service except the Coast Guard. When I was hurt, we were serving in a Marine sector- so the helicopter that came to get me was a Marine CH-46, and the helicopters that escorted that one were Marine Cobra gunships. Then they took me to a US Navy surgical facility- later, the doctor told me that although I was clearly near death, he was impressed by my courage and military bearing- I responded that as a West Point graduate, I wasn’t about to appear weak in front of him or his staff! A day or so later, I was put aboard an Air Force critical care transport aircraft to return to the US through Germany. So despite being an Army partisan, I appreciate the service of all of you. Coast Guard, see me after the speech.

I spent nearly 5 months in the hospital, undergoing more than 40 surgeries and using more than 120 units of blood. For a long time, doctors were not sure that I would make it, and spent a great deal of time preparing my family for the worst. My family and I believe in the power of prayer and we believe in the power of a great God to save us from trouble. More important, we believe that God has a plan for each of our lives that is bigger than our own temporary discomfort- and we’re grateful for that plan.

We also believe in America, and that this is nation is a precious gift to an utterly undeserving people. Despite the hardship that I have been through personally, I am proud every day to have worn the uniform of my country in a foreign land- to be part of something much bigger than myself. I have lost soldiers under my command- a wonderful lieutenant from Atlanta named Tyler Brown and a young soldier from Michigan named Dennis Miller, and I believe that we, as Americans, owe a debt of gratitude to men like those.

General Douglas MacArthur said in his famous speech at West Point that were we, the professional soldiers, ever to forget the call to our country, that “a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country”

He also said “Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardian, as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiator in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government: Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by Federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be."

This idea of the military member being “a lifeguard” or a “guardian” or a “gladiator” is self-explanatory. There are some of you who still, like me, wear the uniform of your country- and I salute you for your continued service during this very difficult war.

But what happens when we take the uniform OFF? What of our oaths to support and defend the Constitution? Do they, like the promises of some of our political leaders, have an expiration date? I think not- I believe that there are a couple of things that we can and should continue to do to make our country better.

First, I believe that we have an obligation as Americans to remain informed and involved in the political process. How many of you know what our foreign policy currently looks like? Or that the federal budget, with each dollar laid end to end, would stretch to the moon and back? Being involved- debating these decisions- and demanding that your political leaders bring your views to the halls of Congress and the White House is critically important, no matter what your party affiliation is. You have earned- with your sweat and perhaps blood- the right (and duty) to make your voice heard. When veterans speak, people listen.

Second, we owe our families our full devotion- so many things distract us from our families that many times it seems that we can barely manage to engage for a few minutes a day. But just as you were heroes when you carried a rifle in a foreign country, you need to be heroes to your wives, children, and grandchildren by making the hard right choices over the easy wrong choices every day. Consider how you spend your time, money, and talents, and spend them in a way that makes your relationships stronger and more vibrant. I know a pastor who says that there are two kinds of funerals- sad ones and happy ones. The sad ones are where the friends of the dead man talk about how good his golf game was, and the happy ones are where loving families talk about a legacy of courage, love, and warmth. Take actions today that will make your funeral one of the happy ones- when you’re dead it’s pretty much too late.

Third, develop and exercise sound character- Although I don’t have a comprehensive definition, a short hand definition is that sound character is character that you’d be happy to see reflected in your children and grandchildren. Like body armor, character is never best “put on” at the last instant- by then its too late. I’ve been in a number of firefights- none has lasted more than a few minutes. Imagine, for a moment, if I had waited to don my equipment and zero my rifle until the enemy first started firing. We owe it to those around us to develop good character now- and exercise it when all the chips are down.

We all know that combat is a searing experience. You sometimes hear stories of soldiers or Marines committing crimes overseas or upon their return, and those cases are often attributed to “the stress of combat”. That is only partially true- the whole truth is that combat does not change the character of the participants- it simply reveals it. Similarly, adversity will someday reveal the character that you develop now. I know that I’m one of the youngest people in the room- but this issue of character is not an age-based thing. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 8 or 88, your character still matters and is still developing.

Related to this issue of character is the concept of courage. I suppose I’d be remiss if in this American Legion hall I wasn’t willing to give an example of courage: so I will!

This example was displayed by a private named Tungol, a soldier in my unit, on the night of the 21st of June, 2005. Tungol was a quiet soldier, one who nobody would expect could be a hero. That night, he was riding in the back of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle through the mean streets of Ramadi, part of a 4 vehicle combat patrol. The lead Bradley was struck by an IED, lighting it on fire and forcing the crew to evacuate, along with the infantry soldiers in the back of the vehicle. It also wounded the driver and platoon leader. When the soldiers sought refuge next to a cinder-block wall not far from the Bradley, they were immediately raked with machine-gun fire from a hidden position. Specialists Brian Vaughn, the medic, and Christopher Hoskins were killed immediately, and the team leader and two other soldiers were shot.

Tungol heard the commotion from the back of an adjacent Bradley. Knowing that no-one else was in a position to help, he raced through the machine gun fire to the downed men. Grabbing the most seriously injured, he brought him back to the Bradley and applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Again, he raced through the street to grab another soldier, this time using his belt to stop the bleeding. A final time, he ventured into the street to grab another of his friends. This time, since he had no belt and no tourniquet, he used the cord on a radio hand microphone to create a final tourniquet. The lives of all three wounded soldiers were saved.

But courage can be much, much more than the kind displayed by Tungol. I’ve had many opportunities to talk about courage and about heroism at venues around the country, and people are always most interested in ‘classic’ military heroism- like Tungols’.

To me, though, the hardest kind of courage to develop, and by far the rarest, is moral courage. By moral courage, I mean the daily act of choosing the harder right over the easier wrong. Courage is the ability to reject the wrong choice in favor of the right. Even when people ridicule you. Even when you face scorn. Even when it hurts. Even when you are rejected.

As I stated earlier, you all have served your country in uniform. What I call upon you to do is to continue to serve her out of uniform. By being involved politically, by taking care of your family, by developing and exercising courage and character, you will make this great country even greater. The service you render to your country through this political activity is perhaps more important than the service of men and women in uniform: after all, our nation’s military strength flows from our economic and political strength, and you are a critical part of that.

Thank you for your time today!

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the end of an extraordinary and massive effort to save the city of Berlin from a Soviet blockade, which was designed to bring the people of the western sector of town to their knees. The U.S. Air Force (USAF), along with the U.S. Navy and allies from around the world, embarked on a task to create an air bridge (Luftbrüke) to keep this city, with a population of 2.5 million people, alive.  The Berlin Airlift is well documented. Even Hollywood got into the act in 1950, with the film, “The Big Lift.” I salute the veterans who turned the wrench to fix the planes, as well as those who arduously toiled loading flour, wood, and coal on the C-47 and C-54 aircraft. And I give a big, hearty salute to those who flew the mission in all kinds of inclement weather.  Overall, 78 aircrew perished in an effort to keep the mighty fist of Stalin from devouring the entire city. 

My first flying assignment was with the 37th Airlift Squadron, Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, flying as navigator in the mighty C-130 Hercules. I was reminded of the history of the Berlin Airlift everyday while stationed there. My son attended Halvorsen-Tunner Elementary School, named after Gen. William Tunner, Commander of the Berlin Airlift, and Colonel Gail Halvorsen, who was better known as “The Berlin Candy Bomber.”  As I made my way from base housing to the squadron, I drove by the Berlin Airlift Memorial. It has three arching “prongs,” representing the three air corridors (Luftkorridore) used by aircraft passing over East German territory on flights between West Berlin & West Germany. A matching monument stands at the other end of the “Luftbrüke,” at Templehof Air Base in the American sector, completing the airlift arch.  Little did I know as I drove by the Berlin Airlift Memorial that civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BH) would trigger the United States to begin Operation PROVIDE PROMISE, involving hazardous airlift and supply missions into Sarajevo, and airdrops to the surrounding enclaves. 

Three months before the first airlift in July 1992, the European community turned her head as the better-armed Bosnia Serb forces quickly took control of over 60 percent of BH and encircled Sarajevo. In response, the United Nations (UN) imposed economic sanctions against Serbia, and sent peacekeepers into Bosnia to aid the delivery of humanitarian relief. With the roads to Sarajevo controlled by the Bosnia Serbs, airlifts became the only way humanitarian supplies could reach the 380,000 inhabitants of the besieged city.  UN troops reopened the Sarajevo airport after three months of fighting.  For the next three and a half years, until January 4, 1996, the airlift helped sustain the citizens of Sarajevo. Running three times longer than the Berlin Airlift, Operation PROVIDE PROMISE became the longest humanitarian airlift in history.  Air Force airlifters, primarily C-130’s, provided much of the airlift capacity, though aircraft from 20 other nations also participated.  Flying 12,895 sorties, these planes delivered almost 180,000 tons of food, medicine, and other supplies. Compare that to the 2.3 million tons delivered for the Berlin Airlift 

My first mission into BH was memorable because I was dressed for combat, even though this mission was for humanitarian purposes.  The cargo compartment of our C-130 was loaded with four pallets, with each pallet stacked with 20 pallets on top of the base pallet.  The aircraft was loaded beyond maximum peacetime gross take-off weight, which meant a longer takeoff roll. But that is no problem when you have an 11,000-foot runway.  Arriving in Zagreb, Croatia, our aircrew found the airfield buzzing with UN relief workers already in action.  Since we arrived before any of our USAF ground forces, our aircrew had to offload the plane.  We then placed five of the empty pallets on the ground and began the process of loading them with 12 tons of baby food. We then placed those pallets aboard the aircraft with a UN forklift.   While we were figuring out the pallet situation, our other problem was obtaining aviation fuel.  Normally, we pay for our gas with a credit card, and the US government is billed accordingly. But this situation dictated that we bring a purser from our accounting and finance office on the mission.  He was carrying a briefcase with $47,000 so we could buy our fuel.  We also had to negotiate the price of fuel, so haggling was in order.  The final price was $1,600 for 8,000 pounds of fuel. Not a bad deal if I say so myself. 

Landing at Sarajevo, with 4,000-foot mountains surrounding the airport was like landing in the bottom of a soup bowl. The Bosnian Serbs held the high ground and took many shots with their anti-aircraft weaponry (AAA), as our aircraft made their high-angled approach into the city.  Once on the ground, we would quickly make a bid to exit the first taxiway abeam the parking apron. Many aircraft paid the price of taking small-arms fire if they rolled the aircraft to the other end of the runway after landing. For some phases of the airlift, we were able to shut down all four engines to ease the offload in the back. But many times, we kept all the engines running in order to expedite ground time and minimize exposure to the fighting factions. My personal record for landing, offloading five pallets, and taking off, was seven minutes!  On one mission, we had to shut down three engines, leaving one engine running for tactical purposes during the offload of 29,000 pounds of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s). It was then I noticed a mortar land 300-400 yards from the plane. Two more came in at about the same distance.  I couldn’t hear them go off because I had my helmet on and one engine was running. But the loadmaster said he felt the concussion from the explosion.  We’ve had enough, “Let’s crank engines and get out of here!”  A German C-160 parked beside our Herk had enough also. From there on,  it was a race to see who could start engines the fastest and leave. (The German’s had to start two engines).  We beat the C-160 out of the chocks and took off first.  The rest was uneventful (or so we thought) until we landed in Zagreb, Croatia. The C-160 that took off behind us at Sarajevo, limped back to Zagreb with a 20mm round penetrating the bottom of the fuselage and exiting through the gas turbine compressor!  That could just as easily have been our airplane taking the hit if we didn’t get our engines cranked before the C-160. 

The Bosnia Serbs remained belligerent and fired on aircraft flying humanitarian Operation PROVIDE PROMISE flights.  A missile brought down an Italian transport in September 1992.  When it became too dangerous to land at Sarajevo Airport, the American, German, and French airlifters airdropped food and medicine to the enclaves, including Tuzla, Srebrenica, Zepa, and Gorazde.  During the first two nights, millions of leaflets were dropped explaining the mission’s humanitarian nature and warning people to beware of descending bundles. The usual airdrop package was six USAF C-130’s flying in formation, with one German and one French C-160  flying to the same Drop Zone (DZ), five minutes in trail of the six-ship formation.  Each C-130 carried 12 Container Delivery System bundles, with an average weight of 1,500 pounds each. Over time with this airdrop operation, the USAF had expended more than 21,000 high velocity (HV) parachutes.  Operation PROVIDE PROMISE had used up all HV parachutes in the US Army’s inventory, so the Army parachute riggers had to resort to reducing the area of low velocity parachutes (reefing) to keep up with the demand until the manufacture could make more HV chutes.   

The airdrops proved to be successful, although there was much criticism initially from the media regarding drop accuracy. USAF rules of engagement dictated the release of the airdrop loads between 10,000 to 14,000 feet altitudes due to terrain and avoiding AAA.  One special airdrop mission required the C-130’s to drop 4,200 glass vials of penicillin to a besieged hospital that had hundreds of wounded and sick people. The Army riggers successfully rigged these fragile supplies for the HV parachutes that slow descent to about 60 mph. If all goes as planned, the airdrop load would drift more than a mile in the 50-plus knot winds from a navigator-calculated release point in the Bosnian skies.  The DZ below measured 1000 yards by 1800 yards.  The last time the plane’s computerized radar got such a workout was dropping supplies to encircled Marines at Khe Sanh in 1968. The UN Military Observers reported the drop of penicillin was a complete success, with the viles landing only 100 yards from the target!  All medical supplies were recovered and not one vile was broken.  In all, the USAF airlifters flew more than 2,200 airdrop sorties across Bosnia.   

Humanitarian airlift is a tradition as old as the Air Force.  From Berlin to Bosnia, General Ronald Fogleman (CSAF) summed it up best: “In the end, we effectively employed non-lethal air power to relieve human suffering, save countless lives, and keep a flame of hope burning bright.” 

Note:  Major Todd Copley flew 110 sorties in direct support of Operation Provide Promise.