Watch and Read Part 1

14:45 – Cargo Bay doors open and we’re signaled as a reminder to buckle up and sit our arses down. Damn!

14:50 – Toll Island drop off complete. I’m not exactly sure where or how many crates were dropped per island… like I said, I was on a need to know basis.

15:10 – Fanapangese Atoll drop off complete. The Air Men are sitting on the ramp at the back edge of the plane. It’s not as windy as I expected.

15:15 – Paul sees another airplane on our tail… it was a crazy sight… he snapped several pics. My camera is almost out of memory.

15:30 – Udot Island drop off complete. The islands look so beautiful.

15:35 – The cargo bay door is shut and we appear to be on our way back home. I need to use the pickle jar… poor Zita no bathrooms for ladies.

15:38 – While I use their hole in the wall Zita and Paul are taking pictures of my pickle jar adventure. I salute you pickle jar! You are a life saver.

15:40 – I’m reviewing my pics and notice that my camera is almost out of battery life. Darn! I want to take pictures of Guam from the plane.

15:45 – I go down for a nappy nap. Goodnight!

17:10 – I wake up because of the change in temperature inside the plane. I think we’re landing. Cool… no de-compression. I feel great!

17:20 – I see Guam… I only have a minute of battery time on my Sony Cyber Shot, so I take the first clear picture of the island… whoa, Guam has so many buildings on it.

17:35 – Touch down. We’re back home from a long day off island. I feel kind of weird.

17:45 – We stop on the airstrip and get off the plane… the bus to take us back to the terminal is ready and waiting… like a tourist, I have Paul take my picture with the C-130 in the back ground as I throw up a hang loose. Me and Paul are the last ones on the bus. MSgt. Gruenwald thanks us for riding along and says, “it was great to see that you all were having a good time.” Thanks for baby sitting Master Sergeant!

17:50 – We arrive at the Air Force Terminal… there’s a real name for it but I forget. We say our goodbyes and I feel weird… not sad, but like airsick, but how? I’m on land.

18:00 – Me, Zita and Paul meet at the parking lot in front of the Air Force Terminal. Sgt. Bahret shows up to make sure we’re all okay and to escort us off the base. He’s such a cool dude! We all get in our car and split! I still feel sick! uhg.

Well, thats all folks! I had quite a memorable experience and got to see first hand what it takes to perform these missions. It is no easy task! There was a lot of preparation and planning involved when making the actual drops… can you imagine what it takes to coordinate with everyone else involved? Press, civilians, the donators, the pilots, the crate dropper dudes, the combat camera, the bus driver, the actual plane to be on Guam in time for the drop? I’m sure I didn’t even mention half of the efforts from the military personnel.

Hope you guys enjoy the pics and the footage. I had an AWESOME time… if there was one thing I didn’t like about the mission it would be that the plane was so loud, none of us “ride alongs” could communicate during the flight. However, all in all a success and mission accomplished! Special thanks to Major Dowdell, Master Sergeant Gruenwald and Sergeant Bahret for allowing me to ride along! Saina Ma’ase and thanks for checking out guamology.

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