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On 9/1/2009 12:59:59 PM Major Paula Kurtz, 17th Air Force wrote
As I travel around Africa, I'm never sure quite what to expect. Last week I visited Uganda for the first time. There were 18 of us aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130 from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein, Germany. Our mission was to engage with the Uganda Peoples' Defence Force and show them how the U.S. Air Force does humanitarian airdrop.
There were about 25 Ugandan students taking part in the familiarization, ranging from Private to Major. Some were in the air force, and others were ground forces. There were logisticians, fuels and lubricants specialists, vehicle maintainers and even paratroopers -- not exactly the audience we thought we'd have for this event. That's because the Ugandan air force is still young and quite small. The general in charge of the air force compared them to a small child, just taking their first steps and needing a supporting arm to help them along.
What they might lack in experience, though, they more than make up for in inquisitiveness. They were hungry to learn and asked plenty of questions. One of our team members said they were like spongesjust absorbing everything. Over the three-day event, there was plenty to take in. Our crew -- made up of pilots, a navigator, aircraft maintainers, loadmasters, and two Army Reserve parachute riggers -- conducted classroom discussions, a scenario-driven mission planning session, a hands-on exercise in packing and loading two pallets for airdrop, and finally, a flight in our C-130 to actually watch an airdrop in action. For many, that flight was their first time ever on an airplane.
Although our purpose there was to teach, we also learned much about the Ugandans, their history and their culture. One private I talked with had spent a year in the ground force when he was 18. His unit walked more than 100 kilometers to fight in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our last day there he brought an envelope with pictures to show me -- pictures of his time in the Congo, pictures of himself with his parents and siblings, and pictures of he and his wife. He has been in the air force for six years and he wants to be in charge of packing and loading the cargo for airlift missions. As a private, he earns the equivalent of $25 per month.
One of the more experienced Majors that I met talked with me about women in the Ugandan military. He asked about women in our force, wanting to know if they were included in careers that are math and science based. There are few women in his military, and he wants to encourage more of them to go into technical fields.
From my perspective, this TSC (Theater Security Cooperation) event was a great success. We had an opportunity to interact and learn some things from one of our partner nations, and to give them an idea of what the C-130 is capable of in the humanitarian airdrop and airlift realms. I hope that ultimately our efforts will help them look forward to how they want to progress and how they can be a force to stabilize not only their country, but the sub-Saharan region of Africa.
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