What Goes Around.....

I have mentioned this particular event in previous notes to you. Somalia, 1992. Operation Restore Hope.
Starvation is leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. The United States comes to the rescue. The Air Force is dispatched by President George H.W. Bush in August to fly food and water into the interior sections of Somalia. Later the Army and Marines are needed.
War lords are ruling the country. And they are all very well armed. There is little electricity. Phone service is almost non-existent. And people are continuing to die. A poor country.
Dyess sends C-130's and personnel to Africa for the mission. Air crews, maintainers, medical. Just about everyone at one time or another. My trip there was just before Christmas '92. The Dyess planes were already there, so I flew in the back of a C-141 to Newfoundland, Germany, Egypt and then Mombasa, Kenya. That's where the Dyess people were working. Flying missions up the Indian Ocean coast to Mogadishu, Somalia, and air strips around the bone dry countryside.
This is brought vividly to mind, as KTAB's Katherine Lane reports on her mission with Dyess C-130's to help in the Haiti disaster. "Riding in the back, feet propped on a Humvee, the web seats, no windows." For military men and women, that kind of transport is common. For civilians used to windows, reclining seats, and maybe even peanuts, it is a big adjustment.
My 141 had the same accoutrements.... web seats along each side of the plane, a couple of small windows providing no light, heavy equipment as cargo chained down in the middle, little room to walk around, and lots of noise. A 747 it was not. But military cargo aircraft are not designed for creature comforts. They're to get equipment and personnel to where they need to be.
For a reporter traveling half way around the world to Africa, or a couple thousand miles to Haiti, the thrill of getting the story helps you overlook the discomfort. I know the military has to do that all of the time. It's part of the job.
I remember the fine folks who got me there and back, and those who were away from their families Christmas 1992, helping people who needed help. I was gone for only two weeks. The Dyess folks much longer.
It makes me appreciate the sacrifices of those who represent our nation by wearing a uniform, and their families. I salute you.

What Happened To '09

The years just slip by. I know I'm not really getting any older, but the time does go by quickly. What happened to 2009? Have I said this before? Memory, you know.
There were many events, large and small, which each of us will remember from '09. Some national events which get us, whether we like them or not. And some personal things which aren't always what we had planned. But for those of us with family members who live away, it makes the holidays a joyous time when they return. So, my holiday was joyous. I hope yours was too.
So what's to come in 2010? No one knows of course. We are hopeful it will be good, but all will not end well, and all problems will not be solved in the length of a television show.
I just know the KTAB news crew will keep delivering the news, KTAB will be involved in community events, and we hope to be a positive part of your lives.
Be sure and let us hear from you about events we need to cover, stories which need to be told, people who need a camera pointed at them (for good or bad reasons).
And just maybe that clock will slow down a little.