AIRLIFTERS SHOULDER HEAVY BURDENS FOR IRAQI FREEDOM.

(From Regulatory Intelligence Data)

Byline: Kyra Phillips, Kimberly Osias, Daryn Kagan, Ed Henry

NEAR CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait, Jan. 3, 2006 - The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing at an air base near here has broken some records in support of American forces in Iraq.

"We moved our millionth troop this last November," wing commander Air Force Col. Tim Hale said Jan. 2.

The 386th is the primary airlift hub for Operation Iraqi Freedom. It averages moving 3,000 to 3,500 troops a day into and out of Iraq, he added, including either deploying and redeploying them or ferrying them to and from to rest and recuperation leave. Most of these troops are going into and coming out of combat, Hale said.

The unit also provides more than 1,500 airmen who support Army efforts in Iraq, the colonel said. This includes helping supply convoys all over Iraq and working as prison guards at Camp Bucca.

Hale said he has seen plenty in the six months he has commanded the wing. "We've seen everything from the loss of the first security forces airmen in convoy operations to moving Baby Noor, the baby with spinal bifida," he said.